Degree
From Nordan Symposia
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Etymology
Middle English, from Anglo-French degré, from Vulgar Latin *degradus, from Latin de- + gradus
- Date: 13th century
Definitions
- 1 : a step or stage in a process, course, or order of classification <advanced by degrees>
- 2 a : a rank or grade of official, ecclesiastical, or social position <people of low degree>
- b archaic : a particular standing especially as to dignity or worth
- c : the civil condition or status of a person
- 3 : a step in a direct line of descent or in the line of ascent to a common ancestor
- 4 a obsolete : step, stair
- b archaic : a member of a series arranged in steps
- 5 : a measure of damage to tissue caused by injury or disease — compare first-degree burn, second-degree burn, third-degree burn
- 6 a : the extent, measure, or scope of an action, condition, or relation <different in degree but not in kind>
- b : relative intensity <a high degree of stress>
- c : one of the forms or sets of forms used in the comparison of an adjective or adverb
- d : a legal measure of guilt or negligence <found guilty of robbery in the first degree>
- 7 a : a title conferred on students by a college, university, or professional school on completion of a program of study
- b : a grade of membership attained in a ritualistic order or society
- c : an academic title conferred to honor distinguished achievement or service
- d : the formal ceremonies observed in the conferral of such a distinction
- 8 : a unit of measure for angles equal to an angle with its vertex at the center of a circle and its sides cutting off 1⁄360 of the circumference; also : a unit of measure for arcs of a circle equal to the amount of arc that subtends a central angle of one degree
- 9 archaic : a position or space on the earth or in the heavens as measured by degrees of latitude
- 10 a : a step, note, or tone of a musical scale
- b : a line or space of the musical staff