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Oct 12, 2000
This week's theme
Words with ambigrams

This week's words
ambiguity
philosophy
energy
gravity
syzygy

A.Word.A.Day--gravity

Pronunciation RealAudio


gravity (GRAV-i-tee) noun

1. The natural force of attraction exerted by a celestial body, such as Earth, upon objects at or near its surface, tending to draw them toward the center of the body. The natural force of attraction between any two massive bodies, which is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. Gravitation.

2. Grave consequence; seriousness or importance.

3. Solemnity or dignity of manner.

[French gravite, heaviness, from Old French, from Latin gravitas, from gravis, heavy.]

GRAVITY If it weren't for gravity, we wouldn't know which way was was up. Without gravity to pull things "down," there would be no such thing as up or down. This is an excellent example of the yin/yang idea that nothing exists except in relation to its opposite. The opposite of gravity is weightlessness. A fair conclusion: Gravity is the soul of wt. -John Langdon (this week's Guest Wordsmith)

X-Bonus

A penny will hide the biggest star in the universe if you hold it close enough to your eye. -Samuel Grafton

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