Wordnet 3.0
NOUN (1)
1.
the density of a substance relative to the density of water;
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
3. Importance, significance, dignity, etc; hence,
seriousness; enormity; as, the gravity of an offense.
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They derive an importance from . . . the gravity of
the place where they were uttered. --Burke.
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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.
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5. (Mus.) Lowness of tone; -- opposed to acuteness.
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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.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
specific \spe*cif"ic\ (sp[-e]*s[i^]f"[i^]k), a. [F.
sp['e]cifique, or NL. spesificus; L. species a particular
sort or kind + facere to make. Cf. specify.]
1. Of or pertaining to a species; characterizing or
constituting a species; possessing the peculiar property
or properties of a thing which constitute its species, and
distinguish it from other things; as, the specific form of
an animal or a plant; the specific qualities of a drug;
the specific distinction between virtue and vice.
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Specific difference is that primary attribute which
distinguishes each species from one another. --I.
Watts.
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2. Specifying; definite, or making definite; limited;
precise; discriminating; as, a specific statement.
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3. (Med.) Exerting a peculiar influence over any part of the
body; preventing or curing disease by a peculiar
adaptation, and not on general principles; as, quinine is
a specific medicine in cases of malaria.
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In fact, all medicines will be found specific in the
perfection of the science. --Coleridge.
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Specific character (Nat. Hist.), a characteristic or
characteristics distinguishing one species from every
other species of the same genus.
Specific disease (Med.)
(a) A disease which produces a determinate definite effect
upon the blood and tissues or upon some special
tissue.
(b) A disease which is itself uniformly produced by a
definite and peculiar poison or organism.
Specific duty. (Com.) See under Duty.
Specific gravity. (Physics) See under Gravity.
Specific heat (Physics), the quantity of heat required to
raise the temperature of a body one degree, taking as the
unit of measure the quantity required to raise the same
weight of water from zero to one degree; thus, the
specific heat of mercury is 0.033, that of water being
1.000.
Specific inductive capacity (Physics), the effect of a
dielectric body in producing static electric induction as
compared with that of some other body or bodies referred
to as a standard.
Specific legacy (Law), a bequest of a particular thing, as
of a particular animal or piece of furniture, specified
and distinguished from all others. --Wharton. --Burrill.
Specific name (Nat. Hist.), the name which, appended to the
name of the genus, constitutes the distinctive name of the
species; -- originally applied by Linnaeus to the
essential character of the species, or the essential
difference. The present specific name he at first called
the trivial name.
Specific performance (Law), the peformance of a contract or
agreement as decreed by a court of equity.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
specific gravity
n 1: the density of a substance relative to the density of water
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
33 Moby Thesaurus words for "specific gravity":
G, G suit, apogeotropism, closeness, compactness, congestedness,
congestion, consistence, consistency, crowdedness, denseness,
density, firmness, geotropism, gluiness, gravitation, graviton,
gravity, hardness, impenetrability, impermeability, imporosity,
incompressibility, jammedness, mass, relative density, solidity,
solidness, spissitude, thickness, viscidity, viscosity,
viscousness