gravity

noun9

1. •
   Of an activity, situation, words, etc.: the quality of having important or serious consequences; importance, seriousness.

   • I hope you appreciate the gravity of the situation.
2. •
   the pull that brings things down to the ground on Earth, and that every object has on every other

   • Do you know that gravity is pulling at you, tugging at you, trying to drag you down, from the moment you awake in the morning till you tumble into bed at night? — 1950
3. •
   Of an activity such as a ceremony, a person's conduct, etc.: the quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; seriousness, solemnity; (countable, archaic or obsolete) a serious or solemn thing, such as a matter, a comment, etc.

   • [Y]ou should see all those grand censors, that novv stile them [plays] such vanities, flock to them for the maine grace of their grauities: […] — 1602
4. •
   (old-fashioned) Dated except in centre of gravity: specific gravity or relative density (“a dimensionless measure which is the ratio of the mass of a substance to that of some reference substance (chiefly an equal volume of water at 4°C)”); also, heaviness, weight.

   • Thus one generation is alvvays the scorn and vvonder of the other; and the notions of the old and young are like liquors of different gravity and texture, vvhich can never unite. — 1750
5. •
   (old-fashioned) Synonym of g-force (“the acceleration of a body relative to the freefall acceleration due to any local gravitational field, expressed in multiples of g0 (the mean acceleration due to gravity at the Earth's surface)”).
6. •
   The lowness in pitch of a note, a sound, etc.
7. •
   (no longer used) The tendency to have weight and thus move downwards, formerly believed to be an inherent quality of some objects.

   • […] Gravity is an Intrinsecal Quality by vvhich a Body so qualified descendeth perpendicularly tovvards the Superfices of the Earth. — 1678
8. •
   (no longer used) Authority, influence, weight; also, used as a title for a person with authority or influence.
9. •
   (no longer used, rare) The quality of being unable or unwilling to move quickly; heaviness, sluggishness.

   • [T]he learned authors of this vvorld say that about thirty yeares, man is in his full state, and from that time, hee declineth to an age of more grauity and decay: […] — 1610