graduation

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˌɡɹædjuˈeɪʃən/ (UK); /ˌɡɹæd͡ʒuˈeɪʃən/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is from graduate with the suffix -ation,^[2][3] after Medieval Latin graduātiō.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

In alchemy, a tempering or refining of something to a certain degree: the early 15th century in Etymonline,^[3] 1477 in the OED.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The receiving or conferring of an academic degree is also from the early 15th century,^[3][2] and the ceremony at which degrees are given from 1818.^[3] A dividing into degrees is from the 1590s,^[3] arrangement in gradations from 1658,^[5] and concentrating brine by evaporation from 1839.^[5] The marks on a measuring vessel or instrument are a later technical sense.^[6][7]

Timeline

• 1477 – tempering to a degree.^[5]
• 1590s – dividing into degrees.^[3]
• 1658 – arrangement in gradations.^[5]
• 1818 – a graduation ceremony.^[3]
• 1839 – concentration of brine.^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The awarding or receiving of an academic degree or diploma.
2. The ceremony at which degrees or diplomas are conferred.
3. A mark or division on a scale, or the marks collectively.
4. An arrangement in degrees or stages.

Word family

• nongraduation
• postgraduation
• pregraduation

Related words

• graduate
• grade
• gradual

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins