Message-ID: <22058262.1075846753875.JavaMail.evans@thyme> Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2000 17:04:00 -0700 (PDT) From: wsmith@wordsmith.org To: linguaphile@wordsmith.org Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gravity Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-From: Wordsmith X-To: linguaphile@wordsmith.org X-cc: X-bcc: X-Folder: \Susan_Scott_Dec2000_June2001_2\Notes Folders\All documents X-Origin: SCOTT-S X-FileName: sscott5.nsf 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.] Ambigram: http://wordsmith.org/words/gravity.gif 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, http://www.coda.drexel.edu/wordplay This week's theme: words with ambigrams. ............................................................................. A penny will hide the biggest star in the universe if you hold it close enough to your eye. -Samuel Grafton Q: Tomorrow is my friend's birthday and I forgot to send her a gift. Help! A: Give the gift of words. Send a gift subscription of A.Word.A.Day at http://wordsmith.org/awad/gift.html . It is the gift that keeps on giving the whole year long, and beyond. Pronunciation: http://wordsmith.org/words/gravity.wav http://wordsmith.org/words/gravity.ram