gravamen - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

gra·va·men

Audio Help [gruh-vey-muh

n] Pronunciation Key

–noun, plural -vam·i·na

Audio Help [-vam-uh-nuh] Pronunciation Key. Law.

1.	the part of an accusation that weighs most heavily against the accused; the substantial part of a charge or complaint.

2.	a grievance.

[Origin: 1595–1605; < LL: trouble, physical inconvenience, equiv. to L gravā(re) to load, weigh down (deriv. of gravis heavy, burdened) + -men n. suffix

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
gravamen

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

gra·va·men Audio Help (grə-vā'mən) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. gra·va·mens or gra·vam·i·na (-vām'ə-nə) Law
The part of a charge or an accusation that weighs most substantially against the accused.

[Medieval Latin gravāmen, injury, accusation, from Late Latin, encumbrance, obligation, from Latin gravāre, to burden, from gravis, heavy; see grave².]

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
gravamen

"grievance," 1647, from L.L. gravamen "trouble, physical inconvenience," from gravare "to burden, aggravate," from gravis "heavy" (see grave (adj.)).

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Gravamen

Gra*va"men\, n.; pl. L. Gravamina , E. {Gravamens. [L., fr. gravare to load, burden, fr. gravis heavy, weighty. See Grave, a.] (Law) The grievance complained of; the substantial cause of the action; also, in general, the ground or essence of a complaint. Bouvier.

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