'gravity-defying' originates from modern English, formed by combining the noun 'gravity' (from Latin 'gravitas', meaning 'weight' or 'heaviness') and the verb 'defy' (from Old French 'desfeier' / 'desfier', meaning 'to challenge' or 'to renounce').

The element 'gravity' entered English via Old French/Latin (Latin 'gravitas') and came to mean 'weight' and later the scientific sense of gravitational force. 'Defy' developed from Old French 'desfeier' into Middle English 'defien'/'defy', meaning 'to challenge' or 'resist'. The compound adjective 'gravity-defying' is a modern English formation (20th century onward) used to describe feats or appearances that seem to resist gravitational pull.

Initially, 'gravity' referred to weight or seriousness and 'defy' meant to challenge or resist; combined as 'gravity-defying' it evolved to mean 'appearing to resist gravity' in a literal sense and later gained figurative use for anything astonishing or seemingly impossible.