degree English · revision 3119

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1200|origins=la gradus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /dɪˈɡriː/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|degre]],^(MWU 2024) [[bor|fro|degré|t=step of a stair, degree of relationship, academic degree, rank]], earlier degret,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) said to be from [[la-vul|*dēgradus|t=a step]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from Latin dē- “down” and [[m|la|gradus|t=a step]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) the source of [[grade]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021) Etymonline takes gradus to [[ine-pro|*gʰredʰ-|alt=*ghredh-|t=to walk, go]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A step or stair, a position in a hierarchy, and a stage of progress: about 1200,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the 13th century.^(MWU 2024)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Middle English it was a word of wide use, and most of its extended senses come from the idea of a hierarchy of steps;^(Etymonline) it also meant way, manner, condition or standing.^(Etymonline) A step in a line of descent is from the mid-14th century,^(Etymonline) and an academic rank conferred by diploma from the late 14th century,^(Etymonline) from the medieval mastership or doctorate, reached in stages.^(Cresswell 2021) ''By degrees'', “gradually”, is from the late 14th century.^(Etymonline) Other senses come from the idea of subdivisions of something: one 360th of a circle from the late 14th century,^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) a measure of heat from the 1540s, and a unit on a thermometer by 1727.^(Etymonline) In law, a grade of culpability is from the 1670s, as in American ''first-degree murder'' (by 1821).^(Etymonline) A musical interval is from the 17th century.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1200 – a step, a rank, a stage.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * mid-14th century – a step in a line of descent.^(Etymonline)

+ * late 14th century – an academic degree; a degree of a circle.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1540s – a measure of heat.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1670s – a degree of crime.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1727 – a degree on a thermometer.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A unit for measuring [[angle|alt=angles]], one 360th of a full circle.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A unit on a scale of [[temperature]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Amount, extent or intensity: ''to some degree''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A step or stage in a process or series.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # An academic title given by a [[university]] for completing a course of study.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Social or official rank.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A grade of seriousness, as of a crime or burn: ''first-degree murder''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(grammar)'' A form of comparison of an adjective or adverb, such as comparative or superlative.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[degreed]]

+ * [[degreeless]]

+ * [[millidegree]]

+ * [[predegree]]

+ * [[degree-day]]

+ * [[first-degree]]

+ * [[third-degree]]

+ * [[pass degree]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[grade]]

+ * [[gradual]]

+ * [[degrade]]

+ * [[graduate]]

+ * [[progress]]

+ * [[digress]]

+ * [[aggression]]

+ * [[ingredient]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}