grade English · revision 2920

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1511|origins=la gradus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɡreɪd/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|grade|t=grade, degree]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and directly from [[la|gradus|t=a step, pace; a degree]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from [[m|la|gradī|t=to walk, step, go]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[ine-pro|*ghredh-|t=to walk, go]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It replaced Middle English gree “a step, degree”, from Old French gre.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The verb is from the noun.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A degree of angular measurement, the 90th part of a right angle: about 1511 in the OED,^(OED 1989) the 1510s in Etymonline^(Etymonline) and 1526 in Merriam-Webster.^(MWU 2024) This use was largely replaced by [[degree]], from the same source.^(Cresswell 2021)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A step or stage in a process is from 1796,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) a class of things of the same quality from 1807,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and a degree in rank from 1808.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) The slope of a road or railway is from 1811.^(Etymonline) A school class representing one year's work is from 1835, chiefly North American,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and a letter mark for a student's work from 1886.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''Grade A'', top quality, originally of milk, is from a US system begun in 1912,^(Etymonline) and ''to make the grade'', “to succeed”, also from 1912.^(Etymonline) The verb, “to arrange in grades”, is from the 1650s,^(Etymonline) “to level a road” from 1835, and “to mark students' work” from 1931.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1511 – a degree of angle.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1650s – verb, to arrange in grades.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1796 – a stage in a process.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1807 – a class of quality.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1811 – a slope.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1835 – a school year.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1886 – a mark for school work.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1912 – ''make the grade''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A level of quality, rank or value.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A mark showing the quality of a student's work.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(North American)'' A class or year in school.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # The degree of slope of a road or railway; a [[gradient]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A stage or degree in a process.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To sort by size, quality or rank.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To give a mark to a student's work.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To level a road to a gentle slope.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[gradeless]]

+ * [[gradable]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[degree]]

+ * [[gradual]]

+ * [[graduate]]

+ * [[gradient]]

+ * [[degrade]]

+ * [[progress]]

+ * [[grade school]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}