SOBRI'ETY, noun [Latin sobrietas, from sobrius.] 1. Habitual soberness or temperance in the use of spirituous liquors; as when we say. a man of sobriety 2. Freedom from intoxication. Public sobriety is a relative duty. 3. Habitual freedom from enthusiasm, inordinate passion or overheated imagination; calmness; coolness; as the sobriety of riper years; the sobriety of age. 4. Seriousness; gravity without sadness or melancholy. Mirth makes them not mad, nor sobriety sad.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI