gravamen

noun

gra·​va·​men grə-ˈvā-mən 

plural gravamens or gravamina grə-ˈva-mə-nə 

: the material or significant part of a grievance or complaint

Did you know?

Gravamen is not a word you hear every day (even rarer is gravamina, the less expected of its two plural forms; gravamens is the other), but it does show up occasionally in modern-day publications. It comes from the Latin verb gravare, meaning “to burden,” and ultimately from the Latin adjective gravis, meaning “heavy.” Fittingly, gravamen refers to the part of a grievance or complaint that gives it weight or substance. In legal contexts, gravamen is used to refer to the grounds on which a legal action is allowed or upheld as valid. (The word is synonymous with a legal use of gist not found outside technical contexts). Gravis has given English several other heavy words that throw their weight around more frequently, including gravity, grieve, and the adjective grave, meaning “important” or “serious.”

Examples of gravamen in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Righteous anger over the double-standard would, however, have been a good reason for the House to avoid making insurrection the gravamen of its impeachment article. —Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 17 Jan. 2021

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Late Latin gravāmen "burden, discomfort, annoyance," from Latin gravāre "to make heavy, oppress, weigh heavily upon" (derivative of gravis "heavy, oppressive, serious") + -men, resultative noun suffix — more at grave entry 2

First Known Use

1602, in the meaning defined above

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Legal Definition

gravamen

noun

gra·​va·​men grə-ˈvā-mən 

: gist

Etymology

Medieval Latin, from Late Latin, burden, from Latin gravare to burden, from gravis heavy, grave