Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Gravity
Grav′i-ty
,Noun.
pl.
Gravities
(#)
. 1.
The state of having weight; beaviness;
as, the
. gravity
of lead2.
Sobriety of character or demeanor.
“Men of gravity and learning.” Shak.
3.
Importance, significance, dignity, etc; hence, seriousness; enormity;
as, the
. gravity
of an offenseThey derive an importance from . . . the
gravity
of the place where they were uttered. Burke.
4.
(Physics)
The tendency of a mass of matter toward a center of attraction; esp., the tendency of a body toward the center of the earth; terrestrial gravitation.
5.
(Mus.)
Lowness of tone; – opposed to
acuteness
. Center of gravity
See under
– Center
. Gravity battery
, See , 4.
– Battery
, Noun.
Specific gravity
, the ratio of the weight of a body to the weight of an equal volume of some other body taken as the standard or unit. This standard is usually water for solids and liquids, and air for gases. Thus, 19, the specific gravity of gold, expresses the fact that, bulk for bulk, gold is nineteen times as heavy as water.
Webster 1828 Edition
Gravity
GRAV'ITY
,Noun.
1.
Weight; heaviness.2.
In philosophy, that force by which bodies tend or are pressed or drawn towards the center of the earth, or towards some other center, or the effect of that force; in which last sense gravity is synonymous with weight.