Gravitas
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Gravitas is a Latin noun that, as a modern loanword, conveys a sense of substance or depth of personality.
In an ancient Roman context, the word gravitas communicated a sense of dignity, seriousness, and duty. Gravitas is one of the several virtues that Ancient Roman society expected men to possess, along with pietas and dignitas.
Gravitas should not be confused with gravity, the force of attraction between masses.
[edit] Examples
- In American politics, the term gravitas has the intended meaning of "heft," "weight," or, more loosely: "breadth of experience." Usually, it is used to refer to a candidate's qualifications to seek public office, particularly President or Vice President of the United States. Hoover Institution fellow and columnist Thomas Sowell noted what he believed to be an over-usage of the term during the 2000 U.S. Presidential campaign. [1]
- Conservative political commentator David Limbaugh noted that in the year 2000, then-Texas Governor George W. Bush's gravitas was called into question by his critics. [2]
- The Boston Globe commented (in September 2003) that Vice President Dick Cheney was making mis-statements and, perhaps, over-relying on his perceived gravitas to keep him out of trouble with the media. [3]
- Stephen Colbert prides himself on his gravitas, which he describes as "the ability to make whatever one's talking about sound extremely important." Colbert has staged two "Gravitas-Off" matches on The Colbert Report with Stone Phillips, where Colbert and Phillips have taken turns reading random lines of news copy and tongue-twisters with gravitas.
- Various episodes of The West Wing featured characters discussing the gravitas (or lack thereof) of specific candidates or their policies.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Thomas Sowell article "The Gravitas Game"
- David Limbaugh on the "Gravitas" of Texas Governor George W. Bush
- Boston Globe editorial on Cheney and his "gravitas"
