Etymologically
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grader

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 1 November 2026 at 00:35. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈɡɹeɪdə/[1]
  • US: /ˈɡɹeɪdɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English grade + -er, from the verb grade.[2][3][4] Dictionary.com marks it as an Americanism.[4] The verb comes from the noun, which is from French grade (“grade, degree”), from Latin gradus (“a step”), from gradior (“to walk, step”).[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Merriam-Webster dates the first use, "one that grades", to 1832.[5] The OED's first record, from 1850, is of a person employed to grade produce, in an American report on agriculture.[2] Dictionary.com dates the word to 1840–50.[4]

Semantic evolution

The word followed the senses of the verb grade: sorting goods by quality, levelling roads to a gradient (from 1835 for the verb) and marking schoolwork (from 1931).[2][3] By 1868–69 it also named a machine for grading, now above all the road-building machine with a blade that levels the ground.[3][2][5] In American use a grader is also a pupil in a given grade of school, as in fifth grader.[6][5][4]

Timeline

  • 1832 – one that grades.[5]
  • 1850 – a person who grades produce.[2]
  • 1869 – a machine for grading.[2] Etymonline dates it to 1868.[3]
  • 1870 – a person who grades roads.[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A person who grades, especially one who marks students' work.[6][5][7]
  2. A pupil in a specified grade at school: a sixth grader.[6][5][4]
  3. A machine with an adjustable blade for levelling earth, as in road building.[6][7][5]
  4. A worker or machine that sorts produce or materials by size or quality.[5][2]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  7. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins