DICT.TW Dictionary Taiwan

 So·lem·ni·ty n.; pl. Solemnities
 1. A rite or ceremony performed with religious reverence; religious or ritual ceremony; as, the solemnity of a funeral, a sacrament.
 Great was the cause; our old solemnities
 From no blind zeal or fond tradition rise,
 But saved from death, our Argives yearly pay
 These grateful honors to the god of day.   --Pope.
 2. ceremony adapted to impress with awe.
    The forms and solemnities of the last judgment.   --Atterburry.
 3. Ceremoniousness; impressiveness; seriousness; grave earnestness; formal dignity; gravity.
    With much glory and great solemnity.   --Chaucer.
    The statelines and gravity of the Spaniards shows itself in the solemnity of their language.   --Addison.
    These promises were often made with great solemnity and confirmed with an oath.   --J. Edwards.
 4. Hence, affected gravity or seriousness.
    Solemnity 's a cover for a sot.   --Young.
 5. Solemn state or feeling; awe or reverence; also, that which produces such a feeling; as, the solemnity of an audience; the solemnity of Westminster Abbey.
 6. Law A solemn or formal observance; proceeding according to due form; the formality which is necessary to render a thing done valid.
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