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Etymology and origin of the Italian word grado

Italian has two words spelled grado: the literary word for pleasure or liking, from Latin grātum, and the ordinary word for a step, degree or rank, from Latin gradus.[1][2][3]

grado1 pleasure

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Inherited
First attested
early 13th century, Uguccione da Lodi
Inherited from
Latin gratum
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European *gʷr̥H-tó-s

Pronunciation

Forms

grado m (plural gradi)[4]

Etymology

The word for pleasure is inherited from Latin grātum (“something pleasing”), the neuter of grātus (“welcome, pleasing; grateful”) used as a noun, which also gave the learned grato.[1][3][2][4] The ⟨d⟩ for Latin ⟨t⟩ shows that it came through the northern dialects, which voiced the consonant between vowels.[3][5][6] DEI and Meyer-Lübke think it came into Italian from Old Occitan grat, and DELI counts it among the words of Provençal courtly love that entered the first Italian poetry.[7][8][1]

The same Latin word is continued by Old French gré, kept in modern French phrases, and by Catalan grat, Spanish grado and Portuguese grado.[3][8][4] De Vaan traces grātus to Proto-Italic *gʷrāto- and Proto-Indo-European *gʷr̥H-tó-s (“praised (in song)”), with Oscan and Paelignian relatives meaning “grace, mercy”.[9][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

DEI's first record is in Uguccione da Lodi, in the 13th century, and Nocentini puts the word at the beginning of that century.[7][3] DELI's first date is Guittone d'Arezzo, before 1294, for “pleasure, goodwill”.[1][10]

Semantic evolution

In Dante the word means both “pleasure, will”, as in contra suo grado “against his will”, and “gratitude”.[2] Boccaccio and Alberti still use it for liking and consent.[10] The verb gradire “to welcome, accept gladly” is recorded in Guittone, before 1294, gradevole “pleasant” in the 14th century, and gradimento in Daniello Bartoli in 1661.[1] Meyer-Lübke traces gradire to Old Occitan gradir and malgrado “in spite of” to Old Occitan malgrat.[8]

Today the noun survives mainly in di buon grado “willingly”;[6][2][11] saper grado “to be grateful” and other phrases are archaic.[6][2][11]

Timeline

  • Early 13th century – Uguccione da Lodi uses the word.[7][3]
  • Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses grado and gradire.[1]
  • 14th century – Gradevole is recorded.[1]
  • 1661 – Gradimento is recorded in Daniello Bartoli.[1]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (literary) pleasure, liking, will; now mainly in di buon grado, willingly: Ha accettato di buon grado di aiutarci.[2][6][12][11]
  2. (archaic) gratitude: saper grado a qualcuno, to be grateful to someone.[2][12][11]

Word family

  • gradire
  • gradito
  • gradevole
  • gradimento
  • sgradevole
  • sgradito

grado2 degree, step

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1260–1261
Inherited from
Latin gradus
Ultimate origin
Latin gradus
Etymology tree of grado2
inherited borrowed derived
Latin gradus
Italian grado
German Grad
From the same root · grado2
Latin gradatim ← gradus

Pronunciation

Forms

grado m (plural gradi)[4]

Etymology

The word for a degree is inherited from Latin gradus (“step, pace; stair; degree”), from the same stem as gradior (“to step, walk”).[1][3][2][4] Latin had already extended it from a step on a stair to “pace”, a division of a circle and a degree of kinship, the last introduced by the jurists about 200 AD.[1][7] The same word is French degré, formed with a prefix, Occitan gra, Catalan grau, Spanish grado and Portuguese grau.[3][8][13]

De Vaan derives the Latin noun and verb from a stem Proto-Italic *grad-.[9] Earlier handbooks linked it to Germanic and Slavic words for “step” and “to come”, but these are now traced to a different root, and the further origin is unclear.[9] Nocentini compares Lithuanian and Old Irish verbs of moving and chasing.[3] The Latin verb has no Romance descendants, but its compounds gave aggredire, progredire and trasgredire.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Nocentini dates the word to about 1260–1261.[3] DELI's first record is Brunetto Latini, before 1294, for a person's place in a hierarchy, and Dino Compagni, 1310–1312, for any intermediate point on the way from one state to another.[1][14]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian used grado for a stair, with a plural gradora in the Novellino and in Pisan texts.[10][7] The technical senses followed one another: a ranking (before 1342, Cavalca), a degree of kinship (before 1348, Giovanni Villani), a degree of angle (14th century, Bible translations), a measure of wine strength (before 1468, Michele Savonarola), a degree of temperature (before 1660, Francesco Redi) and, in grammar, a degree of comparison (before 1612, Guarini).[1] In mountaineering, the scale of climbing difficulty in grades is recorded in 1953, and the settimo grado, once the top of the scale, has been dropped by climbers but lives on as a metaphor.[1]

Gradino “step” is a diminutive of the first half of the 17th century, and gradinata “flight of steps” is recorded in Daniello Bartoli in 1660.[3][1] French grade (1578) may come from Italian or from Latin.[14]

Timeline

  • c. 1260–1261 – The word is first recorded.[3]
  • Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses it for rank.[1]
  • 1310–1312 – Dino Compagni uses it for a stage between two states.[1]
  • Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani uses it for a degree of kinship.[1]
  • 14th century – Bible translations use it for a degree of angle.[1]
  • Before 1612 – Guarini uses it for a grammatical degree.[1]
  • 1660 – Gradinata is recorded in Daniello Bartoli.[1]
  • 1953 – The grades of climbing difficulty are recorded.[1]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A stage or level in a progression: Abbiamo raggiunto un buon grado di intesa, per gradi, step by step.[2][12][6]
  2. A place in a scale or ranking: un'ustione di secondo grado, la scuola di primo grado.[2][12][6]
  3. rank in a civil or military hierarchy; in the plural, the insignia of rank: È stato promosso al grado di capitano.[2][6][4]
  4. Social standing: persone di umile grado.[2][1]
  5. (law) Degree of kinship: cugini di primo grado.[12][1]
  6. A unit of measure: a degree of angle or of temperature; the alcohol content of a drink.[2][1][4]
  7. (grammar) Degree of comparison of an adjective.[12][1]
  8. essere in grado di: to be able to, to be in a position to: Non sono in grado di risponderti adesso.[12][2]

Word family

  • gradino
  • gradinata
  • gradazione
  • graduale
  • gradualmente
  • graduare
  • graduatoria
  • gradiente
  • gradone

Usage notes

Malgrado “in spite of” is formed from mal grado “against one's will”.[11][8] An old variant of grado “pleasure” is grato.[11][6] The TLIO records a grado meaning “beach” in place names, from Old Occitan grau.[15]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  5. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  7. ^ a b c d e Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975)
  8. ^ a b c d e Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  9. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  10. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  11. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  12. ^ a b c d e f g Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  13. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
  14. ^ a b Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
  15. ^ Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it

Related etymologies

  • no · also from Latin
  • cosa · also from Latin
  • a · also from Latin
  • mio · also from Latin
  • uno · also from Latin
  • si · also from Latin
  • sapere · also from Latin
  • fare · also from Latin
Cite this entry

“Grado.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/grado. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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