[grave] vt graved ; grav.en or graved ; grav.ing [ME, fr. OE grafan; akin to OHG graban to dig, OCS pogreti to bury] (bef. 12c) 1 archaic: dig, excavate
2. a: to carve or shape with a chisel: sculpture b: to carve or cut (as letters or figures) into a hard surface: engrave
3: to impress or fix (as a thought) deeply
[2]grave n [ME, fr. OE graef; akin to OHG grab grave, OE grafan to dig] (bef. 12c) 1: an excavation for burial of a body; broadly: a burial place
2: death 1,
4. [3]grave vt graved ; grav.ing [ME graven] (15c): to clean and pay with pitch "~ a ship's bottom" [4]grave adj grav.er ; grav.est [MF, fr. L gravis heavy, grave--more at grieve] (1539) 1 a obs: authoritative, weighty b: meriting serious consideration: important "~ problems" c: likely to produce great harm or danger "a ~ mistake" d: significantly serious: considerable, great "~ importance"
2: having a serious and dignified quality or demeanor "a ~ and thoughtful look"
3: drab in color: somber
4: low-pitched in sound
5. a of an accent mark: having the form of a mark moving downward from left to right b: marked with a grave accent c: of the variety indicated by a grave accent syn see serious -- grave.ly adv -- grave.ness n [5]grave n (1609): a grave accent used to show that a vowel is pronounced with a fall of pitch (as in ancient Greek), that a vowel has a certain quality (as e in French), that a final e is stressed and close and that a final o is stressed and low (as in Italian), that a syllable has a degree of stress between maximum and minimum (as in phonetic transcription), or that the e of the English ending -ed is to be pronounced (as in "this cursed day") [6]gra.ve adv or adj [It, lit., grave, fr. L gravis] (1683): slowly and solemnly--used as a direction in music