gravityn.
/ˈɡravɪti/ I. The quality of being grave adj.1
1. † a. Weight, influence, authority. Obsolete.† b. As a title of honour or respect. Obsolete.
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the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > influence or authority
gravity1534
weight1710
society > authority > power > influence > [noun]
powerc1300
authorityc1405
voice1433
swaya1510
gravity1534
force1582
bias1587
interest1600
prevalence1612
prevailance1631
pondus1638
prevailancya1649
prevailency1650
influence1652
prevalency1652
weight1710
prevailingness1757
holding1770
mojo1923
clout1958
muscle1965
1534 R. Whittington tr. Cicero Thre Bks. Tullyes Offyces i. sig. A.3 Plato if he wolde haue practysed this maner of persuadynge, he myght haue persuaded with synguler grauytie and copyously.
1535 in State Papers Henry VIII (1849) VII. 614 So in all their procedinges..they shew themselffes to be men of gravyte and wisedom.
1620 N. Brent tr. P. Sarpi Hist. Councel of Trent i. 101 To send Ambassadours, men of grauity and authority.
1728 J. Morgan Compl. Hist. Algiers I. iv. 290 Why should these Circumstances be mentioned by a Historiographer of such gravity.
1741 C. Middleton Hist. Life Cicero II. x. 406 I would not have you think, that any Letters were ever read in the Senate of greater weight than yours, both for the eminent merit of your services, and the gravity of your words and sentiments.
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society > society and the community > social class > nobility > title > title or form of address for persons of rank > [noun]
yea1225
my Lordc1300
seigniorc1330
squire1382
noblessec1390
lordship1394
grace1423
gentlenessc1425
magnificencec1425
noblenessc1425
greatness1473
worshipc1475
your mightinessa1500
excellency?1533
celsitude1535
altitude1543
Your Honour1551
sublimity1553
excellencea1592
captal1592
gentleperson1597
clemencya1600
gravity1618
grace1625
grandeur1632
eximiousness1648
professorship1656
prince1677
excellenceshipc1716
Graceship1804
seigniorship1823
valiancy1828
your seignorie1829
1618 P. Holderus tr. J. van Oldenbarneveld Barneuel's Apol. Ded. sig. Aij I offer it to you with all singular affection, and bending submission to your grauitie.
1629 W. Prynne Church of Englands Old Antithesis Ep. Ded. sig. ¶v It cannot be vnknowne to your grauities, that [etc.].
1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall II. xvii. 24 Your Gravity, your Excellency, your Eminence [etc.].
c. Of a ceremony, proceedings, etc.: solemnity.
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the mind > emotion > pride > ostentation > ceremony or formality > [noun]
with or in (great, etc.) solemnityc1290
ceremonialc1380
circumstancec1386
celebrityc1425
pomposity?a1475
solemness1530
state1599
fashionableness1608
ceremoniality1623
decorum1638
setness1642
formality1666
ceremonialnessa1680
formalness1684
gravity1689
solemn1706
ceremony1759
panjandrum1860
1689 J. Evelyn Let. 12 Aug. in Diary & Corr. (1852) III. 302 There was at least something of more gravity and form kept up.
1702 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion I. iii. 140 The Earl was with more clamour than was suitable to the gravity of that Supream Court, call'd upon to Withdraw.
1716 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 14 Sept. (1965) I. 266 The whole passes with a Gravity and air of ceremony that has something very formal in it.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. vi. 40 The gravity and pomp of the whole proceeding made a deep impression even on the Nuncio.
1855 W. H. Prescott Hist. Reign Philip II v. 83 The process went on with suitable gravity.
d. Something grave; a grave or serious subject, speech, or remark. Obsolete or archaic.
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the mind > emotion > suffering > dejection > melancholy > seriousness or solemnity > [noun] > that which is serious > a serious subject or remark
no laughing matter1549
gravity1609
no joke1809
solemnity1822
1609 Epist. in W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida (2nd issue) sig. ¶2 You should see all those grand censors, that now stile them [sc. Playes] such vanities, flock to them for the maine grace of their grauities.
1850 L. Hunt Autobiogr. II. x. 18 He seldom ventured on a gravity, but in echo of another's remark.
1871 ‘G. Eliot’ in J. W. Cross George Eliot's Life (1885) III. 131 I read aloud..books of German science, and other gravities.
1871 ‘G. Eliot’ in J. W. Cross George Eliot's Life (1885) III. 325 We are deep among the gravities.
2. Grave, weighty, or serious character or nature; importance, seriousness:† a. of literary productions, style, etc. Obsolete.
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society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > vigour or force > [noun]
eloquence1382
elocution1509
gravity?1520
pith?1531
vigour1532
emphasy1548
energy?1549
emphasisa1555
pithiness1557
abruptness1591
emphaticalness1647
nervousness1727
cogency1750
forcibility1771
cogence1782
verve1803
forcefulness1825
force1842
snap1870
full-bloodedness1894
punch1901
compulsiveness1918
punchiness1938
?1520 J. Rastell Nature .iiii. Element sig. Aijv They myght yf they wolde in our englyshe tonge Wryte workys of grauyte.
1649 J. Milton Εικονοκλαστης viii. 73 Empty sentences, that have the sound of gravity, but the significance of nothing pertinent.
b. of events, facts, conditions.
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the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > gravity or seriousness
peisec1425
poise1457
griefa1513
gravity1533
ponderosity1589
ponderance1600
pitha1616
seriousness1797
ponderation1873
gravitas1924
1533 T. More Debellacyon Salem & Bizance i. xiv. f. xcviii The iudges parte is to se that the punysshement passe not the grauyte of the offence.
1593 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie i. x. 74 To punish the iniury committed, according to the grauitie of the fact.
1659 J. Pearson Expos. Creed (1839) 203 The gravity of every offence must needs increase proportionably to the dignity of the party offended.
1790 E. Burke Refl. Revol. in France 43 The wise will determine from the gravity of the case. View more context for this quotation
1878 R. B. Smith Carthage 213 He was himself alive to the gravity of the occasion.
1883 J. Parker Tyne Chylde 274 Great questions should be considered in a spirit worthy of their gravity.
3. Weighty dignity; reverend seriousness; serious or solemn conduct or demeanour befitting a ceremony, an office, etc.; staidness. In later use with wider application: seriousness or sobriety (of conduct, bearing, speech, temperament, etc.); opposed to levity and gaiety.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > dejection > melancholy > seriousness or solemnity > [noun]
earnestOE
sadnessc1350
serious1440
seriouste1440
demurity1483
seriosity?a1505
gravity1509
demureness?1518
seriousness1530
solemness1530
sobriety1548
staidness1561
graveness1577
gravidad1641
earnestness1670
substantialness1683
solemnity1712
smilelessness1844
unsmilingness1873
humourlessness1890
straightfacedness1982
1509 A. Barclay Brant's Shyp of Folys (Pynson) f. ccxlvi Let these folys auoyde this mad mysuse And folowe the right way of vertuous grauyte.
c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) vii. 55 Sittand in ane chair..kepand grite grauite, heffand ane beuk in his hand.
1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie ii. xxv. 66 Marching with great gravitie.
1597 T. Morley Plaine & Easie Introd. Musicke 166 Those songs which are made for the high key be made for more life, the other in the low key with more grauetie and staidnesse.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) iii. i. 51 I neuer heard a man of his place, grauity, and learning, so wide of his owne respect. View more context for this quotation
1642 T. Fuller Holy State iii. xxi. 209 Gravity in the ballast of the soul.
1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 70 Our Entertainment was truly Noble, and becoming the Gravity of the Society [Jesuits].
c1698 H. Maundrell Let. in Journey to Jerusalem (1703) i. sig. Tv Their Religion is fram'd, to keep up great outward Gravity.
a1699 W. Temple Ess. Pop. Discontents in Wks. (1731) I. 259 Gravity often passes for Wisdom, Wit for Ability.
1702 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion I. i. 68 He was a man of very morose manners, and a very sowr aspect, which, in that time, was call'd Gravity.
1771 H. Mackenzie Man of Feeling (1803) xl. 77 The natural gravity of her temper..was such as not easily to be discomposed.
1823 C. Lamb in London Mag. May 536/1 His deportment was of the essence of gravity.
1837 W. Irving Adventures Capt. Bonneville III. 39 Captain Bonneville sat..listening to them with Indian silence and gravity.
1868 A. P. Stanley Hist. Mem. Westm. Abbey (ed. 2) i. 13 His manners presented a singular mixture of gravity and levity.
1894 H. Caine Manxman iii. vii. 142 She grew uneasy at the settled gravity of his face.
II. In physical senses.† 6. Heaviness, sluggishness (of bodily condition). Obsolete. rare (a Latinism).
4. † a. The quality of having weight, ponderability; the tendency to downward motion, regarded in ancient physics as a property inherent in certain bodies (opposed to levity, or the upward tendency ascribed, e.g., to the element of fire). Obsolete.figurative.1841 R. W. Emerson Spiritual Laws in Ess. 1st Ser. (London ed.) 155 The permanence of all books is fixed by..their own specific gravity, or the intrinsic importance of their contents.
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the world > matter > properties of materials > weight or relative heaviness > [noun]
weightc1385
avoirdupois1600
gravity1622
ponderability1682
ponderableness1846
the world > matter > physics > mechanics > force > gravity > [noun] > regarded as inherent in objects
gravity1622
1622 G. de Malynes Consuetudo 62 But Aristotle his reasons are generally approued, to proue the earths stabilitie in the middle or lower part of the world, because of grauitie and leuitie.
1625 N. Carpenter Geogr. Delineated i. iv. 85 Grauitie or heauinesse is nothing els but the inclination of the parts of the Earth, returning to their naturall place.
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §704 Similitude of Substance will cause Attraction, where the Body is wholly freed from the Motion of Grauity.
1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica ii. iii. 72 To overcome the resistance of its gravity and to lift it up from the earth. View more context for this quotation
1656 T. Stanley Hist. Philos. II. vi. 56 Heaven hath neither gravity nor levity; this is manifest from its motion which is circular, not from the center which is proper to light things, nor to the center, as is proper to heavy, but about the center.
1661 J. Glanvill Vanity of Dogmatizing ix. 85 Gravity, which makes great bodies hard of Remove.
1678 T. Hobbes Decameron Physiologicum viii. 84 Gravity is an Intrinsecal Quality by which a Body so qualified descendeth perpendicularly towards the Superficies of the Earth.
b. Weight, heaviness; chiefly = specific gravity n. at sense 4c, but occasionally the weight of an individual portion of matter, a definite amount of weight. Not now in scientific use, except in centre of gravity n.
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the world > matter > properties of materials > weight or relative heaviness > [noun] > property of being heavy
peisea1382
heavinessa1400
ponderosity?a1425
pesanteur1480
ponderousnessc1484
poise1489
pondera1500
weightiness1539
heft1558
gravity1648
ponderity1656
pondure1661
luggage1667
ponderancy1667
the world > matter > constitution of matter > density or solidity > [noun] > specific gravity
density1665
specific gravity1666
solidity1698
gravity1750
relative density1776
1648 Bp. J. Wilkins Math. Magick i. iii. 15 With this kinde of Ballance, it is usuall by the help onely of one weight, to measure sundry different gravities.
1650 J. Bulwer Anthropometamorphosis 122 Their gravity and weight may also offend the upper Lip.
1664 H. Power Exper. Philos. ii. 105 The reason why the Quicksilver descends at all in the first Experiment, is from its exceeding gravity.
1722 W. Wollaston Relig. of Nature ix. 213 Inanimate bodies, which have different gravities.
1750 S. Johnson Rambler No. 69. ⁋8 Liquors of different gravity and texture which never can unite.
1807 C. Hutton Course Math. (ed. 5) II. 149 The weights, or gravities, of bodies near the surface of the earth, are proportional to the quantities of matter contained in them.
1817 R. Jameson Treat. External Characters Minerals (ed. 3) 265 The degrees of the gravity of minerals.
c1860 M. Faraday Var. Forces Nature i. 21 Let us examine it with regard to the amount of its heaviness, or its gravity.
c. specific gravity n. The degree of relative heaviness characteristic of any kind or portion of matter; commonly expressed by the ratio of the weight of a given volume to that of an equal volume of some substance taken as a standard (viz. usually water for liquids and solids, and air for gases). Abbreviated sp. gr.Since the weights of bodies are proportional to their masses, their specific gravities are in the same ratio as their densities; and in some scientific books the term density has displaced specific gravity.
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the world > matter > constitution of matter > density or solidity > [noun] > specific gravity
density1665
specific gravity1666
solidity1698
gravity1750
relative density1776
1666 R. Boyle in Philos. Trans. 1665–6 (Royal Soc.) 1 234 In case its (specifick) gravity were considerably alter'd.
1686 Philos. Trans. 1685 (Royal Soc.) 15 1004 As if they were different fluids, of different specifick gravities (as the word is now a-days) or (as it was wont to be called, and I think, better) Intensive gravity, one from the other.
1696 W. Whiston New Theory of Earth i. 57 Fluids are capable of all degrees of Density and specifick Gravity, as well as Solids.
1758 A. Reid tr. P. J. Macquer Elements Theory & Pract. Chym. I. 234 As the fire carries off the most aqueous part, the other which remains in the retort increases in specific gravity.
1822 T. Webster Imison's Elem. Sci. & Art (new ed.) I. 120 The Hydrometer is the most eligible instrument for finding the specific gravity of fluids.
1831 D. Lardner Hydrostatics viii. 135 By the weights of equal bulks bodies may be separated and arranged in species. Hence the term specific weight or specific gravity.
1868 J. N. Lockyer Elem. Lessons Astron. ix. 311 The mean density, or specific gravity, of its materials.
1870 E. Atkinson tr. A. Ganot Elem. Treat. Physics (ed. 4) §24 The relative density of a substance is generally called its specific gravity.
d. specific gravity beads (also bulbs): small hollow glass spheres used in determining the specific gravity of a liquid (see quot. 1884). specific gravity bottle (also flask): an instrument for determining the specific gravity of a liquid by a comparison of the weight of a given volume of it with that of an equal volume of a standard liquid under the same conditions of temperature and pressure; a pycnometer. specific gravity determination: ascertaining the specific gravity of certain substances for the purposes of investigation or diagnosis.
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the world > matter > constitution of matter > density or solidity > [noun] > specific gravity > device to measure specific gravity > of liquids
waterpoise1660
hydrometer1675
citrometer1823
litrameter1826
Twaddell1853
pycnometer1858
specific gravity beads (also bulbs)1863
1863 E. Atkinson tr. A. Ganot Elem. Treat. Physics §99 Specific gravity flask.
1881 E. Atkinson tr. A. Ganot Elem. Treat. Physics (ed. 10) §122 The pyknometer or specific gravity bottle.
1884 A. Daniell Text-bk. Princ. Physics 198 Specific-gravity bulbs. Bulbs are sold which are known to float without rising or sinking in liquids of the sp. gr. marked in numbers upon them. A number of them are thrown into the liquid; those which bear too high a number sink, those which are too light rise; the one exactly corresponding, if there be one, is at rest anywhere in the fluid.
1899 J. Cagney tr. R. von Jaksch Clin. Diagnosis (ed. 4) vii. 326 The approximate sugar content of the urine..being ascertained by means of a specific gravity determination.
5. The attractive force by which all bodies tend to move towards the centre of the earth; the degree of intensity with which a body in any given position is affected by this force, measured by the amount of acceleration produced. Also often in wider sense, the degree of intensity with which one body is affected by the attraction of gravitation exercised by another body. absol. A force equal to the accelerating force of gravity; abbreviated g. Some writers who restrict the word to terrestrial attraction apply it to the resultant of the earth's attraction of gravitation and the centrifugal force due to the earth's rotation, while others apply it to the gravitational component only.
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the world > matter > physics > mechanics > force > gravity > [noun]
gravity1692
weight1734
the world > matter > physics > mechanics > force > gravity > [noun] > force equal to accelerating force
gravity1945
1692 R. Bentley Confut. Atheism from Struct. & Origin Humane Bodies: Pt. II 5 Without Gravity, the whole Universe..would have been a confused Chaos.
1734 tr. P. L. M. de Maupertuis Diss. Cœlestial Bodies 53 in J. Keill Exam. Burnet's Theory of Earth (ed. 2) The Gravity in A towards γ being = π.
1757 E. Burke Philos. Enq. Sublime & Beautiful iv. §1. 119 If I were to explain the motion of a body falling to the ground, I would say it was caused by gravity.
1812 R. Woodhouse Elem. Treat. Astron. xxxiv. 329 A mean force tending to diminish the Moon's gravity to the Earth.
1816 W. Kirby & W. Spence Introd. Entomol. (1843) II. 219 These ubiquitaries—some flying about—others pacing against gravity up the walls or upon the ceiling.
1837 D. Brewster Treat. Magnetism 246 A pendulum, oscillating by the action of gravity.
1854 D. Brewster More Worlds iv. 70 An accurate calculation of the force of gravity upon Jupiter.
1867 J. F. W. Herschel Familiar Lect. Sci. Subj. 90 (note) A force directed to the sun differing by a mere infinitesimal from its direct gravity.
1879 W. Thomson & P. G. Tait Treat. Nat. Philos. (new ed.) I: Pt. i. 230 Thus, approximately, the poundal is equal to the gravity of about half an ounce.
1945 Jrnl. Exper. Zool. 100 398 A sample of lobster~serum was..subjected to ultracentrifugation in a small air-turbine..machine at approximately 120,000 gravities.
1949 W. Ley Conquest of Space (1950) 44 If we assume the average acceleration of a moonship amounts to 4 g (gravities), which is something we are sure the pilot can stand.
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the world > health and disease > ill health > [noun] > torpor or sluggishness
heavinessc888
gravity1610
the slows1832
malaise1857
1610 J. Healey tr. St. Augustine Citie of God xxii. xv. 897 About thirty yeares, man is in his full state, and from that time, hee declineth to an age of more grauity and decay.
7. Of sounds: lowness of pitch.
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the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > thing heard > [noun] > sound > quality of sound > pitch > lowness of
baseness1610
deepness1626
gravity1669
bassness1880
1669 W. Holder Elem. Speech 18 There may be other ways of discriminating the voice, e.g. by Acuteness and Gravity.
1721 A. Malcolm Treat. Musick 539 All this seems plainly to put the Difference of the Tones only in the Acuteness or Gravity of the Whole.
1828 T. Busby Mus. Man. Gravity, a word used in contradistinction to acute: depth of sound.
1889 H. C. Banister Text-bk. Mus. (ed. 14) §2 The pitch—acuteness or gravity—of a musical sound depends upon the rapidity of the vibrations which produce it.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
ΚΠ
1882 Rep. Precious Metals (U.S. Bureau of Mint) 650 The mill itself is put up on the terrace or ‘gravity’ plan, the movement of ore in process of treatment being always down.
1894 Outing 24 173/2 The house was..held together nominally by a little mud and mortar, in reality by virtue of being laid in the gravity line.
C2.
gravity anomaly n. the difference between the observed acceleration due to gravity at a point on the surface of the earth (or another planet) and a value derived either from calculations of the geoid or from observations at some reference point.
ΚΠ
1912 J. F. Hayford & W. Bowie Effect of Topogr. & Isostatic Compensation upon Intensity of Gravity 112 A study was made to see if a possible relation could be discovered between the gravity anomalies..and the geoid contours.
1924 H. Jeffreys Earth ix. 121 It is seen from an examination of the formula for the gravity anomaly that only the second term arises from the attraction of the mountain itself.
1959 B. F. Howell Introd. Geophysics xxi. 326 Positive rather than negative gravity anomalies would be expected in the regions into which more mass is sliding.
1969 Z. Kopal Moon xiii. 202 Local concentration of denser material would accelerate overflying spacecraft; and, conversely, negative gravity anomalies would slow the motion down.
gravity balance n. a type of torsion balance formerly used to measure the variation in the force of gravity from one place to another.
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the world > matter > chemistry > equipment or apparatus > [noun] > balances
aquapoise1688
hydrostatic balance1755
gravity balance1900
1900 R. Threlfall & J. A. Pollock in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) A. 193 215 (title) On a quartz thread gravity balance.
1900 R. Threlfall & J. A. Pollock in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) A. 193 216 Our..attempts to construct a gravity balance began in September, 1889.
1923 R. Glazebrook Dict. Appl. Physics III. 403/1 In Threlfall and Pollock's gravity balance a quartz thread is mounted horizontally and is attached, at one end to a spring which takes up variations of tension, and at the other end to an axle which can be rotated, in line with the thread.
gravity battery n.
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the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > galvanism, voltaism > voltaic or galvanic battery > [noun]
electric battery1774
pile1800
battery1801
trough1806
voltaic battery1812
voltaic pile1812
magnetomotor1823
trough battery1841
gas battery1843
gravity battery1870
sand-battery1873
Bunsen battery1879
gravitation battery1883
magazine batterya1884
perfluent batterya1884
1870 E. Atkinson tr. A. Ganot Elem. Treat. Physics (ed. 4) §704 A kind of battery has been devised in which the porous vessel is entirely dispensed with, and the separation of the liquids is effected by the difference of density. Such batteries are called gravity batteries.
1876 W. H. Preece & J. Sivewright Telegraphy 31 The so called ‘Gravity’ batteries.
gravity cell n. a galvanic battery or cell in which the liquids are kept apart by the force of gravity alone.
gravity-collapse structure n. (see quot. 1961).
ΚΠ
1936 Harrison & Falcon in Q. Jrnl. Geol. Soc. 92 91 (title) Gravity collapse structures and mountain ranges, as exemplified in south-western Iran.
1961 J. Challinor Dict. Geol. 95/2 Gravity-collapse structures, structures, in stratified rocks, produced on the limbs of (simple) folds as a result of collapse under the force of gravity.
gravity conveyor n. a conveyor in which material slides, rolls, or falls under its own weight, the rate of descent being determined by friction; also, a conveyor in which the material is contained in freely suspended buckets kept upright by gravity.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > conveyor > [noun] > gravity
gravity conveyor1910
1910 Encycl. Brit. VII. 56/1 The gravity or tilting bucket conveyor can be used as a combined elevator and conveyor.
1966 McGraw-Hill Encycl. Sci. & Technol. (rev. ed.) III. 447/2 The most economical means for lowering articles and materials is by gravity conveyors.
gravity dam n. a dam that resists the pressure of the water by its weight.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > lake > pool > [noun] > artificially confined water > contrivance for impounding water > dam > types of
mill-dam1182
warrant1406
pond head1465
coffer-dam1736
batardeau1767
gather-dam1768
frame dam1774
crib-dam1816
shutter-dama1884
suddc1900
needle gate1909
check-dam1936
gravity dam1940
1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 388/1 Gravity dam.
1957 Encycl. Brit. VII. facing p. 8 (caption) Solid masonry gravity dams.
1971 N. Smith Hist. Dams ii. 33 A gravity dam is in general a straight wall of masonry or earth which resists the applied water~pressure because of its sheer weight.
gravity die-casting n. die-casting in which the metal is poured into the mould rather than forced in under pressure; a casting so made.
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society > occupation and work > industry > working with specific materials > working with metal > [noun] > founding or casting > types of
iron founding1793
bronze founding1869
chill-casting1879
die-casting1911
core-casting1928
slush casting1930
sand casting1939
gravity die-casting1940
investment casting1946
slipforming1968
pressure casting1973
1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 388/1 Gravity diecasting, a process by means of which castings of various alloys are made in steel or cast-iron moulds, the molten metal being poured by hand.
1960 Metallurgia LXI. 65/2 Although there are many methods of producing castings in aluminium alloys, only three are of major importance, namely sand casting, gravity die casting, and pressure die casting.
1964 S. Crawford Basic Engin. Processes (1969) xi. 246 Gravity die castings are generally superior in structure and strength to both sand castings and pressure die castings.
gravity escapement n. (see quot. 1884).
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > instruments for measuring time > clock > [noun] > part(s) of
nut1428
peise1428
plumbc1450
Jack1498
clockwork1516
larum1542
Jack of the clockhouse1563
watch-wheel1568
work1570
plummeta1578
Jack of the clock1581
snail-cam1591
snail-work1591
pointer1596
quarter jack1604
mainspring1605
winder1606
notch-wheel1611
fusee1622
count-wheel1647
jack-wheel1647
frame1658
arbor1659
balance1660
fuse1674
hour-figure1675
stop1675
pallet1676
regulator1676
cock1678
movement1678
detent1688
savage1690
clock1696
pinwheel1696
starred wheel1696
swing-wheel1696
warning-wheel1696
watch1696
watch-part1696
hoop-wheel1704
hour-wheel1704
snail1714
step-wheel1714
tide-work1739
train1751
crutch1753
cannon pinion1764
rising board1769
remontoire1774
escapement1779
clock jack1784
locking plate1786
scapement1789
motion work1795
anchor escapement1798
scape1798
star-wheel1798
recoil escapement1800
recoiling pallet1801
recoiling scapement1801
cannon1802
hammer-tail1805
recoiling escapement1805
bottle jack1810
renovating spring1812
quarter-boy1815
pin tooth1817
solar wheel1819
impulse-teeth1825
pendulum wheel1825
pallet arbor1826
rewinder1826
rack hook1829
snail-wheel1831
quarter bell1832
tow1834
star pulley1836
watch train1838
clock train1843
raising-piece1843
wheelwork1843
gravity escapement1850
jumper1850
vertical escapement1850
time train1853
pin pallet1860
spade1862
dead well1867
stop-work1869
ringer1873
strike-or-silent1875
warning-piece1875
guard-pin1879
pendulum cock1881
warning-lever1881
beat-pin1883
fusee-piece1884
fusee-snail1884
shutter1884
tourbillion1884
tumbler1884
virgule1884
foliot1899
grasshopper1899
grasshopper escapement1899
trunk1899
pin lever1908
clock spring1933
1850 E. B. Denison Rudimentary Treat. Clock & Watch Making i. xlix. 71 The most simple..form of the gravity escapement is this.
1884 F. J. Britten Watch & Clockmakers' Handbk. (new ed.) 115 Gravity Escapement, an escapement in which impulse is given to the pendulum by a weight falling through a constant distance.
gravity meter n. = gravimeter n. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > mechanics > force > gravity > [noun] > instrument for measuring variation
gravimeter1932
gravity meter1941
1941 J. M. Bruckshaw in Proc. Physical Soc. LIII. 449 The present interest in gravity meters arises from two..considerations.
1941 J. M. Bruckshaw in Proc. Physical Soc. LIII. 452 It is by no means an easy matter to produce a gravity meter..which..is robust and sufficiently transportable to be employed in the field.
1955 Sci. Amer. Sept. 164/1 The only way we can trace its girth and plot its distances accurately is to travel over its surface with a gravity meter, measuring the tiny differences in gravity from point to point as a guide to the ups and downs of the globe's undulating shape.
1957 Encycl. Brit. X. 677/1 The gravity meter or gravimeter is simply a spring balance comprising a constant mass supported by a spring system, the changes in elongation of which may be read with precision.
gravity organ n. (see quot.).
ΚΠ
1909 Daily Chron. 18 Feb. 7/5 A gravity organ is possessed by all the lower water animals, to enable them to tell when they are standing on their feet or are upside down... Similar gravity organs have been discovered in plants by Professor Haberlandt.
Categories »
gravity-railroad n. ‘a railroad in which the cars move down an inclined plane, or a series of inclined planes, under the action of gravity alone’ ( Cent. Dict.).
gravity stamp n. a machine for crushing ore in which a heavy weight is repeatedly raised by a revolving cam and allowed to drop on the ore.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > equipment for treating ores > [noun] > for crushing ore
stamping-mill1552
bucker1653
buck1683
stamp-mill1752
Ball stamp1860
jaw-breaker1877
jaw-crusher1877
spaller1877
arrastre1881
trapiche1881
gravitation stamp1894
ball mill1895
gravity stamp1903
slugger1903
tube-mill1909
1903 R. H. Richards Text-bk. Ore Dressing I. v. 144 Gravity stamps are lifted by cams and drop by their own weight.
1965 E. J. Pryor Mineral Processing (ed. 3) iv. 60 The gravity stamp..is a fixed-path machine. It is obsolescent, its place being taken by the rod mill.
gravity survey n. (see quot. 1923).
ΚΠ
1913 Q. Jrnl. Geol. Soc. 69 p. lxxxii A Gravity Survey seems clearly to be called for.
1923 R. Glazebrook Dict. Appl. Physics III. 398/1 The primary object of a gravity survey is to obtain values of the force and direction of gravity at various points of the sea-level surface.
1959 New Scientist 5 Feb. 274/2 The Americans are now planning an airborne seismic and gravity survey of the central section of the supposed graben, in Marie Byrd Land.
gravity tank n. a fuel container from which the petrol is fed by gravity to the engine.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > engine > internal-combustion engine > [noun] > parts of > other parts
thermo-siphon1834
crank-case1878
manifolda1884
hot tube1889
sump1894
hit-and-miss governor1897
engine pit1903
retard1903
head1904
gasket1915
gravity tank1917
cylinder block1923
transfer case1923
swirl chamber1934
manifolding1938
ignition switch1952
catalytic converter1955
small block1963
cat1988
1917 ‘Contact’ Airman's Outings 225 A small gravity tank for his machine, to be used when the pressure tank is ventilated by a bullet.
1934 V. M. Yeates Winged Victory 48 A small reserve supply [of fuel] in the gravity tank.
gravity water system n. (see quot. 1940).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > lifting or hoisting equipment > [noun] > for raising water > system of
waterOE
waterwork1437
gravity water system1940
1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 388/1 Gravity water system, a system in which flow occurs under the natural pressure due to gravity.
1960 R. Davies Voice from Attic 99 The same unpleasing charts of the sexual organs (the male, like plans for a gravity water system; the female like the skull of an elk, with vastly branching antlers).
gravity wave n. a wave on the surface of a liquid in which the dominant force is gravity rather than surface tension; also, a wave in the atmosphere propagated because of gravity.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > gas > air > [noun] > air-wave > others
gravity wave1877
lee wave1955
the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > wave > types of waves > [noun] > other
way1578
wake1753
clean, clear breach1867
feather-spray1867
south-western1872
bow-wave1877
gravity wave1877
blind roller1888
gravitational wave1899
Kelvin wave1922
rooster tail1934
slide1935
bow shock1938
beacher1956
1877 Proc. London Math. Soc. 9 22 The following particular cases..are here tabulated for convenience:—V ∝ λ, U = o, Reynold's disconnected pendulums. V ∝ λ1/ 2, U = 1/ 2V, Deep-water gravity waves. V ∝ λ0, U = V, Aërial waves, &c. V = λ−½, U = 3/ 2V, Capillary water waves. V ∝ λ−1, U = 2V, Flexural waves.
1912 H. Lamb in Proc. 5th Internat. Congr. Math. (1913) II. 284 This [formula] is illustrated in the case of gravity waves.
1930 W. N. Shaw Man. Metereol. III. i. 30 The genesis of gravity-waves in air is not generally understood.
1957 Jrnl. Marine Res. 16 107 At wind velocities between 16 and 20 knots it is common for capillary waves having the same velocity as the gravity waves to ride just at the beginning of the crest of the gravity waves.
1971 Nature: Physical Sci. 29 Mar. 99/2 The excitation of atmospheric gravity waves by a nuclear test in the atmosphere.
gravity-wedge n. a wedge that falls into position, when released, by the force of gravity alone.
ΚΠ
1888 Pall Mall Gaz. 23 Oct. 2/2 A very simple but effective gravity-wedge safety apparatus.
gravity wind n. (see quot. 1959).
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > wind > [noun] > wind blowing down slope
gravity wind1928
1928 W. N. Shaw Man. Metereol. II. 255 Katabatic winds... Such winds are gravity-winds which pay no attention to isobars until they get into the open where they have time to adjust themselves to the requirements of the earth's rotation.
1959 R. E. Huschke Gloss. Meteorol. 259 Gravity wind, a wind..directed down the slope of an incline and caused by greater air density near the slope than at the same levels some distance horizontally from the slope.
Derivatives
ˈgravityship n. used as a mock title.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > nobility > title > title or form of address for persons of rank > [noun] > mock title
sir1362
Mas'1575
gallantship1579
elderberriness1589
excelsitude1599
bellyship1600
rascalship1605
madamship1620
muttonship1632
merchantshipa1640
minxshipa1640
prerogativeship1645
fairship1647
mayorship1648
his tallness1656
curship1663
goodyship1663
Mamamouchi1672
lowness1687
ghostship?1689
lairdship1715
grandship1747
supremacy1766
honourableship1767
beautyship1772
gravityship1772
titularity1777
lordship1800
ethereality1806
elegancy1819
king1823
accidency1830
transparency1844
1772 T. Nugent tr. J. F. de Isla Hist. Friar Gerund I. 370 God forgive his Gravityship the very Reverend Father Provincial.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
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