Part 604

Macaulay.

Grav"i*ta"tion (?), n. [Cf. F. gravitation. See Gravity.] 1. The act of gravitating.

2. (Pysics) That species of attraction or force by which all bodies or particles of matter in the universe tend toward each other; called also attraction of gravitation, universal gravitation, and universal gravity. See Attraction, and Weight.

Law of gravitation, that law in accordance with which gravitation acts, namely, that every two bodies or portions of matter in the universe attract each other with a force proportional directly to the quantity of matter they contain, and inversely to the squares of their distances.

Grav`i*tation*al (?), a. (Physics) Of or pertaining to the force of gravity; as, gravitational units.

Gravi*ta*tive (?), a. Causing to gravitate; tending to a center. Coleridge.

Grav"i*ty (?), n.; pl. Gravities (#). [L. gravitas, fr. gravis heavy; cf. F. gravitÈ. See Grave, a., Grief.] 1. The state of having weight; beaviness; as, the gravity of lead.

2. Sobriety of character or demeanor. "Men of gravity and learning." Shak.

! p. 648 needs proofing ##proof - especially italicized words (also in etymologies) are not properly marked !>

3. Importance, significance, dignity, etc; hence, seriousness; enormity; as, the gravity of an offense.

They 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 Battery, n., 4. -- 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.

Gra"vy (?), n.; pl. Gravies (#). [OE. greavie; prob. fr. greaves, graves, the sediment of melted tallow. See Greaves.] 1. The juice or other liquid matter that drips from flesh in cooking, made into a dressing for the food when served up.

2. Liquid dressing for meat, fish, vegetables, etc.

Gray (?), a. [Compar. Grayer (&?;); superl. Grayest.] [OE. gray, grey, AS. grg, grg; akin to D. graauw, OHG. gro, G. grau, Dan. graa, Sw. grÂ, Icel. grr.] [Written also grey.] 1. White mixed with black, as the color of pepper and salt, or of ashes, or of hair whitened by age; sometimes, a dark mixed color; as, the soft gray eye of a dove.

These gray and dun colors may be also produced by mixing whites and blacks.

Sir I. Newton.

2. Gray-haired; gray-headed; of a gray color; hoary.

3. Old; mature; as, gray experience. Ames.

Gray antimony (Min.), stibnite. -- Gray buck (Zoˆl.), the chickara. -- Gray cobalt (Min.), smaltite. -- Gray copper (Min.), tetrahedrite. -- Gray duck (Zoˆl.), the gadwall; also applied to the female mallard. -- Gray falcon (Zoˆl.) the peregrine falcon. -- Gray Friar. See Franciscan, and Friar. -- Gray hen (Zoˆl.), the female of the blackcock or black grouse. See Heath grouse. -- Gray mill or millet (Bot.), a name of several plants of the genus Lithospermum; gromwell. -- Gray mullet (Zoˆl.) any one of the numerous species of the genus Mugil, or family MugilidÊ, found both in the Old World and America; as the European species (M. capito, and M. auratus), the American striped mullet (M. albula), and the white or silver mullet (M. Braziliensis). See Mullet. -- Gray owl (Zoˆl.), the European tawny or brown owl (Syrnium aluco). The great gray owl (Ulula cinerea) inhabits arctic America. -- Gray parrot (Zoˆl.), a parrot (Psittacus erithacus), very commonly domesticated, and noted for its aptness in learning to talk. -- Gray pike. (Zoˆl.) See Sauger. -- Gray snapper (Zoˆl.), a Florida fish; the sea lawyer. See Snapper. -- Gray snipe (Zoˆl.), the dowitcher in winter plumage. -- Gray whale (Zoˆl.), a rather large and swift California whale (Rhachianectes glaucus), formerly taken in large numbers in the bays; -- called also grayback, devilfish, and hardhead.

Gray, n. 1. A gray color; any mixture of white and black; also, a neutral or whitish tint.

2. An animal or thing of gray color, as a horse, a badger, or a kind of salmon.

Woe worth the chase, woe worth the day. That coats thy life, my gallant gray.

Sir W. Scott.

Gray"back` (?), n. (Zoˆl.) (a) The California gray whale. (b) The redbreasted sandpiper or knot. (c) The dowitcher. (d) The body louse.