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grave 1 (gr v)n.1. a. An excavation for the interment of a corpse. b. A place of burial. 2. Death or extinction: faced the grave with calm resignation.
[Middle English, from Old English græf; see ghrebh-2 in Indo-European roots.] |
grave 2 (gr v)adj. grav·er, grav·est 1. Requiring serious thought; momentous: a grave decision in a time of crisis. 2. Fraught with danger or harm: a grave wound. 3. Dignified and somber in conduct or character: a grave procession. See Synonyms at serious. 4. Somber or dark in hue. 5. also (gräv) Linguistics a. Written with or modified by the mark (  ), as the è in Sèvres. b. Of or referring to a phonetic feature that distinguishes sounds produced at the periphery of the vocal tract, as in labial and velar consonants and back vowels. n. Linguistics also (gräv) A mark (  ) indicating a pronounced e for the sake of meter in the usually nonsyllabic ending -ed in English poetry.
[French, from Old French, from Latin gravis; see gwer -1 in Indo-European roots.]
grave ly adv. grave ness n. |
grave 3 (gr v)tr.v. graved, grav·en (gr v n) or graved, grav·ing, graves 1. To sculpt or carve; engrave. 2. To stamp or impress deeply; fix permanently.
[Middle English graven, from Old English grafan; see ghrebh-2 in Indo-European roots.] |
grave 4 (gr v)tr.v. graved, grav·ing, graves To clean and coat (the bottom of a wooden ship) with pitch.
[Middle English graven.] |
gra·ve 5 (grä v )adv. & adj. Music In a slow and solemn manner. Used chiefly as a direction.
[Italian, from Latin gravis, heavy; see grave2.] |
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