Solemnity \So*lem"ni*ty\, n.; pl. Solemnities. [L. solemnitas, solennitas: cf. F. solennit['e], solemnit['e], OF. also sollempnit['e].]

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.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)