Origin: Latin suffix -tion
Gravitation has 4 different meanings across 1 category:
(physics) the force of attraction between all masses in the universe; especially the attraction of the earth's mass for bodies near its surface
"the more remote the body the less the gravity"
"the gravitation between two bodies is proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them"
"gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love"
movement downward resulting from gravitational attraction
"irrigation by gravitation rather than by pumps"
a figurative movement toward some attraction
"the gravitation of the middle class to the suburbs"
The fundamental force of attraction that exists between all particles with mass in the universe. It is the weakest of the four forces, and possesses a gauge boson known as the graviton.
The word comes from the New Latin gravitatio, which was formed by adding a suffix to the verb meaning "to gravitate." Its original sense referred to the action or process of being drawn toward something by gravity.