Meaning
Grave (Adjective) <1,,4586, semnos>
first denoted "reverend, august, venerable" (akin to sebomai, "to reverence"); then, "serious, grave," whether of persons, 1Ti 1:3,11 (deacons and their wives); Tit 2:2 (aged men); or things, Phi 4:8, RV, "honorable" (marg., "reverend"), AV, "honest." Trench (Syn. xcii) points out that "grave" and "gravity" fail to cover the full meaning of their original; "the word we want is one in which the sense of gravity and dignity is combined." Cremer describes it as denoting what inspires reverence and awe, and says that semnos and hosios, "holy, consecrated," are only secondary designations of the conception of holiness. "The word points to seriousness of purpose and to self-respect in conduct" (Moule). Cp. semnotes, "gravity" (see below).
