degreen.
/dᵻˈɡriː/, U.S. /dəˈɡri/, /diˈɡri/ I. Generally: a step or stage, and related uses.
1.
a. A step in an ascent or descent; one of a flight of steps; a step or rung of a ladder. Obsolete (except in Heraldry).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > ladder > [noun] > rung or step
stepc1000
gangOE
stavec1175
tine?c1225
ladder stalea1250
degreec1290
rungc1300
staffc1325
stairc1400
ladder stavec1440
scalec1440
roundc1450
stakec1450
sprang1527
staver1534
rundle1565
rave1566
roundel1585
rondel1616
ladder rung1620
rowel1652
spokea1658
stower1674
stale1714
rim1788
tread1838
through1899
step iron1912
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > stairs > [noun] > step
stepc825
treadlea1000
stopelc1200
degreec1290
passa1400
pace1423
grece1448
stair1530
footing1725
stair-step1794
gradin1839
society > travel > means of travel > route or way > other means of passage or access > [noun] > flight of steps > a step
stepc825
degreec1290
gree1303
stridea1400
grece1448
stair?1473
footstep1549
grade1698
stepping-stone1837
c1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 482/44 Huy brouȝhten him up-on an he de-grece þat muche folk him i-seiȝh.
a1400–50 Alexander 5636 And xij degreces all of gold for gate vp of lordis.
c1400 (?c1380) Pearl l. 1021 Þise twelue degres wern brode and stayre, Þe cyte stod abof.
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (1839) xxvii. 276 The Degrees to gon up to his Throne.
1483 W. Caxton tr. Caton A v He sawe a ladder whyche had ten degrees or stappes.
1598 R. Hakluyt tr. Vincent of Beauvais in Princ. Navigations (new ed.) I. 69 There were certain degrees or staires to ascend vnto it.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) ii. i. 26 He then vnto the Ladder turnes his Backe..scorning the base degrees By which he did ascend. View more context for this quotation
1682 G. Wheler Journey into Greece v. 385 Raised upon half a dozen steps or degrees.
1738 D. Neal Hist. Puritans IV. 171 At the upper end there was an ascent of two degrees covered with carpets.
1863 C. Boutell Man. Heraldry vii. 34 When placed upon steps..a Cross is said to be on Degrees.
b. transferred. Something resembling a step; each of a series of things placed one above another like steps; row, tier, shelf, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > a layer > [noun] > horizontal layer or tier
chessc1460
loft1535
tier1569
rank1573
storey1594
degree1611
1611 T. Coryate Crudities sig. Q6 Goodly windowes, with three degrees of glasse in them, each containing sixe rowes.
1611 T. Heywood Golden Age ii. sig. D4 In chace we clime the high degrees Of euerie steepie mountaine.
1714 T. Hearne Ductor Historicus (ed. 3) I. iii. 427 The Ship of excessive Magnitude with 20 Degrees of Oars built for King Hiero.
1726 G. Leoni tr. L. B. Alberti Architecture II. 37 b If the Cupola have a cover on the outside made with degrees like steps.
1857 G. J. Wigley tr. St. Charles Borromeo Instr. Eccl. Building xv. 46 On the wooden degree on the after part of the altar.
c. degree-cut in gem-cutting: = trap-cut n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > types of ornamentation > jewellery > making jewellery or setting with jewels > [noun] > mode of cutting gemstones
trap-cut1853
step-cut1865
degree-cut1909
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > gem or precious stone > [noun] > cut in specific style > specific style of cutting
diamond-cut1691
star-cut1815
table cut1820
trap-cut1853
trapping1853
table-cutting1871
degree-cut1909
princess cut1966
1909 in Webster's New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang.
2. figurative.
a. A step or stage in a process, etc., esp. one in an ascending or descending scale.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > advancement or progress > [noun] > a stage in a process or development
degreec1230
greea1340
steadc1370
pointc1475
nick1649
stadium1669
notch1670
grade1796
step1811
milestone1820
way station1863
c1230 Hali Meid. 23 Þu maht bi þe degrez of hare blisse icnawen hwuch and bi hu muchel þe an passed þe oðre.
1550 Paget in J. A. Froude Hist. Eng. (1881) IV. 502 Which recognizance is the first degree to amendment.
1600 E. Blount tr. G. F. di Conestaggio Hist. Uniting Portugall to Castill 246 The greatest in Spain aspire..to be Viceroy of Naples, where~unto they labour to come by many degrees.
a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) v. iv. 86 Can you nominate in order now, the degrees of the lye. View more context for this quotation
1673 J. Dryden Marriage a-la-Mode iv. i. 53 To go unknown, is the next degree to going invisible.
1713 R. Steele Spectator No. 422. ⁋1 To say a thing which..brings blushes into his Face, is a degree of Murder.
b. esp. in by degrees: by successive steps or stages, by little and little, gradually.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > advancement or progress > [adverb] > in stages
successivelya1425
by sequels1477
by degrees?1566
progressively1620
degreeingly1628
?1566–7 G. Buchanan Opinion Reformation Univ. St. Andros in Vernacular Writings (1892) 12 Thyr regentis sal pas be degreis the hail cours of dialectic, logic, etc.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) ii. iii. 361 What wound did euer heale, but by degrees ? View more context for this quotation
1684 R. Howlett School Recreat. 31 Fill it by Degrees.
1700 S. L. tr. C. Frick Relation Voy. in tr. C. Frick & C. Schweitzer Relation Two Voy. E.-Indies 109 Several of our Company..dropt in by degrees.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 123. ¶5 His Acquaintance with her by degrees grew into Love.
a1721 M. Prior Henry & Emma 430 Fine by degrees and beautifully less.
1814 W. Scott Waverley III. v. 61 The character of Colonel Talbot dawned upon Edward by degrees . View more context for this quotation
1853 E. Bulwer-Lytton My Novel I. iv. iii. 284 By degrees he began to resign her more and more to Jemima's care and tuition.
3.
a. A ‘step’ in direct line of descent; in plural the number of such steps, upward or downward, or both upward to a common ancestor and downward from him, determining the proximity of blood of collateral descendants. prohibited or forbidden degrees: the number of such steps within which marriage is prohibited; degrees of consanguinity and affinity within which marriage is not allowed. In the Civil Law the degree of relationship between collaterals is counted by the number of steps up from one of them to the common ancestor and thence down to the other; according to the Canon Law by the number of steps from the common ancestor to the party more remote from him; uncle and niece are according to the former related in the third, according to the latter in the second degree.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > lineage or descent > [noun] > a line of descent > degree in descent
kneec1000
greec1315
generationa1387
degreea1400
descent1538
descendancy1603
remove1741
family tree1752
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) l. 9260 Qua-sim wil se fra adam þe alde how many degrees to criste is talde.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 5603 A man was of his genealogy Fra him bot þo toþer degre.
1508 Golagros & Gawane (Chepman & Myllar) sig. cvi Na nane of the nynt degre haue noy of my name.
1512 Act 4 Hen. VIII c. 20 Preamble Beyng of kyn and alied unto the said John..within the second and third degree.
1540 Act 32 Hen. VIII c. 38 (title) Concerning precontracts and degrees of Consanguinite.
a1557 J. Cheke tr. Gospel St. Matthew (1843) i. 17 Therfoor from David unto Abraham theer weer feorteen degrees.
1604 Canons Ecclesiastical (1852) 48 No person shall marry within the degrees prohibited by the laws of God.
1660 Bp. J. Taylor Ductor Dubitantium I. ii. ii. 312 The reasons why the Projectors of the Canon law did forbid to the fourth or to the seventh degree.
1762 Universal Mag. Mar. 119 She was the daughter of Margaret, the eldest sister of Henry VIII..and..was one degree nearer the royal blood of England than Mary.
1823 W. Scott St. Ronan's Well III. v. 125 I thought..there should be no fighting, as there is no marriage, within the forbidden degrees.
1848 J. J. S. Wharton Law Lexicon 406 Marriages between collaterals to the third degree inclusive, according to the mode of computation in the civil law, are prohibited. Cousins german or first cousins, being in the fourth degree of collaterals, may marry.
b. Used, by extension, of ethnological relationship through more or less remote common ancestry.
ΚΠ
1799 W. Tooke View Russ. Empire II. 104 The nations that..stand in various degrees of affinity with the Samoyedes.
4. † c. of animals, things without life, etc. Obsolete.
a. A stage or position in the scale of dignity or rank; relative social or official rank, grade, order, estate, or station.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > [noun] > distinction of class > level or grade > relative
degreec1230
subordinations1615
c1230 Hali Meid. 15 Se þu herre stondest, beo sarre offearet to fallen for se herre degre.
c1386 G. Chaucer Clerk's T. 369 He saugh that vnder low degre Was ofte vertu y-hid.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness l. 92 Ful manerly with marchal mad for to sitte, As he watz dere of de-gre, dressed his seete.
c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 744 Al haue I nat set folk in hir degree.
c1420 Sir Amadace (Camden) l Knyȝte, squiere, ȝoman and knaue, Iche mon in thayre degre.
?c1475 Sqr. lowe Degre 1 It was a squyer of lowe degrè That loved the Kings doughter of Hungrè.
?1510 T. More tr. G. Pico della Mirandola in tr. G. F. Pico della Mirandola Lyfe I. Picus sig. c.v Holding my self content with my bokes & rest, of a chylde haue lerned to liue within my degree.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VI f. clxxxvj Men of al ages & of al degrees to him dayly repaired.
a1641 T. Heywood & W. Rowley Fortune by Land & Sea (1655) i. ii Do you think I..would marry under the degree of a Gentlewoman?
1746 W. Harris in Priv. Lett. Ld. Malmesbury I. 44 They marched out..with great formality..every Lord walking according to his degree.
1854 H. W. Longfellow Golden Legend (new ed.) iv. 135 None of your damsels of high degree!
1864 J. H. Burton Scot Abroad I. iii. 125 Regulations..for settling questions between persons of unequal degrees.
b. A rank or class of persons. ? Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > [noun] > distinction of class > level or grade
mannishOE
placec1330
state1340
gree1382
conditionc1384
sectc1384
sortc1386
ordera1400
raff?a1400
degreea1425
countenancec1477
faction?1529
estate1530
race1563
calibre1567
being1579
coat1579
rang1580
rank1585
tier1590
classis1597
strain1600
consequence1602
regiment1602
sept1610
standinga1616
class1629
species1629
nome1633
quality1636
sort1671
size1679
situation1710
distinction1721
walk of life1733
walk1737
stage1801
strata1805
grade1808
caste1816
social stratum1838
station1842
stratum1863
echelon1950
a1425 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Galba) l. 27715 None.. may fle enuy, Bot pouer caitefs..None has enuy till þat degre.
1470–85 T. Malory Morte d'Arthur ix. xxxv Thenne alle the estates and degrees hyhe and lowe sayd of syr launcelot grete worship.
?1577 J. Northbrooke Spiritus est Vicarius Christi: Treat. Dicing 77 So much practised now a dayes amongst all sorts and degrees.
1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie ii. xiii. 48 b Without sparyng anye age or degree.
1622 A. Sparrow Rationale Bk. Common Prayer (1661) 249 The Bishop..begins,..all the degrees of Ecclesiasticks singing with him.
a1754 H. Fielding Jrnl. Voy. Lisbon (1755) 47 This barbarous custom is peculiar to the English, and of them only to the lowest degree.
ΚΠ
c1500 Ffor to serve a Lord in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 370 Thenne the kerver or sewer most asserve every disshe in his degre, after order and course of servise as folowith.
1684 R. Howlett School Recreat. 8 The Coney is first a Rabbet, and then an Old Coney. Thus much for their Names, Degrees, and Ages..To speak briefly of the proper Names, Degrees, Ages, and Seasons of the several Chases which we Hunt.
5. Relative condition or state of being; manner, way, wise; relation, respect.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > state or condition > [noun]
statec1225
estatec1230
farea1325
casec1325
beingc1330
degreec1330
condition1340
suita1375
stature?a1513
existence1530
affection?1543
existency1587
subsistence1597
consistence1626
subsistency1628
tone1641
consistency1690
attitude1744
situation1765
working order1784
faring1811
status1837
figure1858
the world > relative properties > relationship > [noun] > relative condition or degree
degreec1330
c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. (1810) 55 He stombled at a chance, & felle on his kne, Þorgh þe toþer schank he ros, & serued in his degre.
c1385 G. Chaucer Legend Good Women Dido. 1031 We..Be now disclaundred, and in swiche degre, No lenger for to lyven I ne kepe.
c1420 Chron. Vilod. 963 Bot sone after~ward he felle into suche dygre, þat gret sekenesse come his body to.
c1430 Two Cookery-bks. 36 Coloure þat on with Saunderys, and þat oþer wyth Safroune, and þe þrydde on a-nother degre, so þat þey ben dyuerse.
c1500 Merchant & Son in J. O. Halliwell Nugæ Poeticæ (1844) 28 To see yow come in thys degre, nere-hande y lese my wytt.
1599 A. Day Eng. Secretorie (rev. ed.) ii. sig. Nn3v I saie of our Secretorie, that as hee is in one degree in place of a seruant, so is he in another degree in place of a friend.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 130 Studious of Honey, each in his Degree, The youthful Swain, the grave experienc'd Bee. View more context for this quotation
1867 O. W. Holmes Guardian Angel II. ii. 35 A simple evening party in the smallest village is just as admirable in its degree.
6. † c. Applied in the natural philosophy of the Middle Ages to the successive stages of intensity of the elementary qualities of bodies (heat and cold, moisture and dryness): see quots. Obsolete.
a. A step or stage in intensity or amount; the relative intensity, extent, measure, or amount of a quality, attribute, or action.Often closely related to sense 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > degree or relative amount of a quality, action, etc. > [noun]
prickOE
degreec1380
greec1386
largenessa1398
rate1523
size1534
pitcha1568
pin1584
scantling1586
intension1604
assize1625
proportion1641
process1655
to a certain extent1671
intensity1794
level1897
c1380 J. Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 510 Cristene men..shulde have discerved most þank of God in degre possible to hem.
1414 T. Brampton Paraphr. Seven Penit. Psalms i. 1 How I had synned, and what degre.
a1538 T. Starkey Dial. Pole & Lupset (1989) 31 By ther reson wherof felycyte admyttyth..degres & some have more wele & some les.
1586 G. Pettie & B. Yong tr. S. Guazzo Ciuile Conuersat. (rev. ed.) iv. f. 192 Judge to what degree or stint he ought to delaie it [wine] with water.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) i. v. 51 Misprision in the highest degree . View more context for this quotation
1652 J. Wright tr. J.-P. Camus Nature's Paradox Who knew themselves greater and more beautifull many degrees.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost v. 490 The latter most is ours, Differing but in degree, of kind the same. View more context for this quotation
1739 D. Hume Treat. Human Nature I. i. 34 When any two objects possess the same quality in common, the degrees, in which they possess it, form a fifth species of relation.
1824 H. W. Longfellow in S. Longfellow Life H. W. Longfellow (1891) I. v. 55 I have the faculty of abstraction to a wonderful degree.
b. a degree: a considerable measure or amount of. to a degree (colloquial): to an undefined, but considerable or serious, extent; extremely, seriously. to the last degree: to the utmost measure.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > greatly or very much [phrase] > in or to the greatest degree
never solOE
with (also mid) the mostc1275
for the masteryc1325
to the bestc1390
to the uttermostc1400
at the hardest1429
to the utmostc1450
to the skies (also sky)1559
at float1594
all to nothing1606
to the height1609
to the proofa1625
to the last degree1639
to the welkin?1746
(the) worst kind1839
for all it's worth1864
as —— as they make them?a1880
in the highest1897
to the nth (degree, power)1897
up to eleven1987
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > greatly or very much [phrase] > extremely
like mada1375
with a mischief1538
(as) — as anything1542
with a vengeance1568
with a siserary1607
(to be pleased) to a feathera1616
in (the) extremea1616
with the vengeance1693
to a degree1740
like hell1776
like the devil1791
like winky1830
like billy-o1885
(like) seven shades of ——1919
like a bandit1943
on wheels1943
1639 T. B. tr. J.-P. Camus Certain Moral Relations in S. Du Verger tr. J.-P. Camus Admirable Events 165 Whose fire was come to the last degree of it's violence.
1667 J. Dryden Indian Emperour ii. ii. 23 Thou mak'st me jealous to the last degree.
1721 T. D'Urfey New Opera's 251 The Cadiz, raging to degree.
1740 H. Bracken Farriery Improv'd (ed. 2) II. vi. 249 Let any one walk in a cold Air, so that his Feet be cold to a Degree.
1775 R. B. Sheridan Rivals ii. i Assuredly, sir, your father is wrath to a degree.
1864 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia IV. xvii. ii. 520 A Czarina obstinate to a degree; would not consent.
1871 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues III. 138 Few philosophers will deny that a degree of pleasure attends eating and drinking.
1888 Spectator 30 June 878 His argument..is far-fetched to the last degree.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > degree or relative amount of a quality, action, etc. > [noun] > of elementary qualities of bodies
greea1398
degreec1400
c1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 11 Þilke þing þat we seie is hoot in þe firste degree þat is I-heet of kyndely heete þat is in oure bodies.
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball ii. lxxxiii. 261 Rue is hoate and dry in the thirde degree.
1738 E. Chambers Cycl. (ed. 2) (at cited word) The Degrees usually allowed are four, answering to the number of the peripatetic elements... In the school philosophy, the same qualities are divided into eight... Fire is held hot in the eighth Degree, and dry in the fourth Degree.
d. Criminal Law. Relative measure of criminality, as in principal in the first, or second, degree: see quots. In U.S. Law, A distinctive grade of crime (with different maximum punishments), as ‘murder in the first degree’, or ‘second degree’.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > rule of law > lawlessness > [noun] > crime > quality of being (a) criminal > degree of criminality
in (a certain) nature1625
degreea1676
a1676 M. Hale Historia Placitorum Coronæ (1736) I. 613 Those, who did actually commit the very fact of treason, should be first tried before those, that are principals in the second degree.
a1676 M. Hale Historia Placitorum Coronæ (1736) I. 615 By what hath been formerly deliverd, principals are in two kinds, principals in the first degree, which actually commit the offense, principals in the second degree, which are present, aiding, and abetting of the fact to be done.
1797 Jacob's Law Dict. at Accessary A man may be a principal in an offence in two degrees..he must be certainly guilty, either as principal or accessary..and if principal, then in the first degree, for there is no..superior in the guilt, whom he could aid, abet, or assist.
1821 T. Jefferson Autobiogr. in Writings (1892) I. 65 They introduced [1796] the new terms of murder in the 1st and 2d degree.
1877 J. F. Stephen Digest Crim. Law art. 35 Whoever actually commits or takes part in the actual commission of a crime is a principal in the first degree, whether he is on the spot when the crime is committed or not.
e. third degree: see third degree n. and adj.
II. Specific and technical senses.† 12. Arithmetic. A group of three figures taken together in numeration. Obsolete.In Johnson, etc.
7. A stage of proficiency in an art, craft, or course of study:
a. esp. An academical rank or distinction conferred by a university or college as a mark of proficiency in scholarship. Also in legal use.Originally used of the preliminary steps to the Mastership or Doctorate, i.e. the Bachelorship and License; afterwards of the Mastership also. (As to the origin, see quot. a1794.) honorary degree: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > educational administration > university administration > taking degree or graduation > [noun] > a degree
degreec1380
degree of (also in) school (also schools)c1449
greec1449
letters1741
1284 Chart. Univ. Paris. I. i. No. 515 Determinatio [i.e. the Disputation for B.A.] est unus honorabilis gradus attingendi magisterium.]
c1380 J. Wyclif Wks. (1880) 427 Degre takun in scole makiþ goddis word more acceptable, and þe puple trowiþ betere þerto whanne it is seyd of a maistir.
1481 W. Caxton tr. Myrrour of Worlde i. v. 26 Without hauyng the degree and name of maistre.
1573 G. Harvey Let.-bk. (1884) 42 That I shuld..go well enough forward in lerninge but never take any high degree in schooles.
1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida i. iii. 104 How could communities; Degrees in schooles..But by degree stand in authentique place. View more context for this quotation
1610 Bp. J. Hall Common Apol. against Brownists xxxvii. 90 You haue twice kneeled to our Vice-Chauncellour, when you were admitted to your degree.
1708 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. 17 June This day Mr. Carter..accumulated ye Degrees of Bach. and Doct. of Divinity.
a1794 E. Gibbon Memoirs in Misc. Wks. (1796) I. 35 The use of academical degrees, as old as the thirteenth century, is visibly borrowed from the mechanic corporations; in which an apprentice, after serving his time, obtains a testimonial of his skill, and a licence to practise his trade and mystery.
1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth xi, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. I. 276 A medal..which intimated, in the name of some court or guild of minstrels, the degree she had taken in the Gay or Joyous Science.
1868 M. Pattison Suggestions Acad. Organisation v. 128 To pass through the whole of this course..whose successive steps were called degrees (gradus), required at least twenty years.
1880 Encycl. Brit. XIII. 87/2 Each inn confers this status or degree [sc. of barrister] on its own members only.
1885 Law Jrnl. 13 June 364/1 That his Royal Highness..be called to the degree of the Utter Bar.
1959 Earl Jowitt & C. Walsh Dict. Eng. Law I. 601/2 Degree,..the state of a person, as to be a barrister-at-law, or a Master of Arts of a University.
b. Freemasonry. Each of the steps of proficiency in the order, conferring successively higher rank on the initiated, as the first or ‘entered apprentice degree’, the second or ‘fellow craft degree’, the third or ‘degree of master mason’.There are 33 degrees recognized by the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, besides many others considered more or less irregular. Some bodies recognize only three degrees.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social relations > an association, society, or organization > secret society > [noun] > the Freemasons > ranks
degreec1430
fellow-craft1696
royal arch1699
third degree1772
c1430 Freemasonry 727 To the nexte degre loke wysly, To do hem reverans by and by.
1875 Fort Early Hist. Freemasonry A society comprising three degrees of laborers,—masters, fellows, and apprentices.
1881 Text-bk. Freemasonry 27 There are several degrees in Freemasonry with peculiar secrets restricted to each.
8. Grammar. Each of the three stages (positive v., comparative adj. and n., superlative adj. and n.) in the comparison of an adjective or adverb.[A technical application of sense 6 ]
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > other grammatical categories or concepts > [noun] > comparison of adjectives or adverbs > degree(s) of comparison
degreea1475
degrees of comparison1530
state1795
state1800
a1475 Bk. Quinte Essence (1889) 22 Þe feuere agu is þe posityue degree, and in þe superlatyue degree.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement Introd. 28 Adjectyves have thre degrees of comparation.
1624 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy (ed. 2) iii. ii. v. iii. 438 If..any were mala, pejor, pessima, bad in the superlatiue degree, tis a whore.
1707 J. Stevens tr. F. de Quevedo Comical Wks. 168 He was the superlative degree of Avarice.
1855 D. Forbes Hindústání Gram. (1868) 34 The adjectives in Hindústání have no regular degrees of comparison.
1888 Pall Mall Gaz. 31 Oct. 4/1 There are three degrees of comparison in Empire, as in grammar. The positive is the chartered company; the comparative is a protectorate; the superlative, annexation.
9.
a. Geometry (Astronomy, Geography, etc.) A unit of measurement of angles or circular arcs, being an angle equal to the 90th part of a right angle, or an arc equal to the 360th part of the circumference of a circle (which subtends this angle at the centre).The sign for degrees is °, thus 45° = forty-five degrees.This division of the circle is very ancient, and appears to have been originally applied to the circle of the Zodiac, a degree being the stage or distance travelled by the sun each day according to ancient Babylonian and Egyptian computation, just as a sign represented the space passed through in a month.
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the world > relative properties > number > geometry > angle > [noun] > degree
degreec1386
gree1423
grade?c1510
digit1653
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement of length > measurement of other dimensions > [noun] > of angles > units of angular measurement
stairc1374
degreec1386
minutec1392
prime1738
mil1907
c1386 G. Chaucer Squire's Tale 378 The yonge sonne That in the Ram is foure degrees vp ronne.
c1400 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) ii. §22. 31 I proue it thus by the latitude of Oxenford..the heyhte of owre pool Artik fro owre north Orisonte is 51 degrees & 50 Minutes.
c1400 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) i. §6. 5 The entring of the first degree in wich the sonne arisith.
1413 J. Lydgate Pilgr. of Sowle (1859) v. i. 70 In the hole compas of the spyere ben of such degrees thre honderd and syxty.
1527 in Arber 1st 3 Eng. Bks. Amer. Pref. p. xiv We ranne in our course to the Northward, till we came into 53 degrees..and then we cast about to the Southward, and..came into 52 degrees.
1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 58 Cosmographers do place the first degre of Longitude in the West fortunate Ilandes.
1590 E. Webbe Rare & Wonderfull Things (new ed.) sig. Cv Being thus in the lande of Prester Iohn, I trauailed within eighteene degrees of the Sunne, euerie degree being in distance three score miles.
1665 T. Manley tr. H. Grotius De Rebus Belgicis 471 A Land full of grass..pleasantly green, where the Pole is elevated eighty degrees.
1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 28 In the Latitude of 27 Degrees 5 Minutes North.
1823 H. J. Brooke Familiar Introd. Crystallogr. 2 The angle at which they meet is said to measure 90°, and is termed a right angle.
1867 J. Hogg Microscope (ed. 6) i. i. 11 Transmitting a pencil of eighteen degrees.
b. transferred. A position on the earth's surface or the celestial sphere, as measured by degrees (chiefly of latitude).
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the world > the earth > geodetic references > [noun] > latitude
parallela1544
sublevation1556
height1585
latitude1622
degree1647
elevation1686
geographical latitude1712
geographic latitude1750
the world > the universe > heavenly body > position of heavenly body > [noun] > latitude
latitudec1400
degree1647
co-latitude1790
1647 A. Cowley Parting in Mistress iii The men of Learning comfort me; And say I'm in a warm Degree.
1663 S. Butler Hudibras: First Pt. i. i. 13 He knew the seat of Paradise, Could tell in what degree it lies.
1726 W. R. Chetwood Voy. & Adventures Capt. R. Boyle 175 The next Day we discover'd the Magellan Clouds... These Clouds are always seen in the same Degree, and the same orbicular Form.
10. Thermometry.
Thesaurus »
a. A unit of temperature, varying according to the scale employed.
b. Each of the marks denoting degrees of temperature on the scale of a thermometer, or the interval between two successive marks.The interval between the freezing and boiling points of water is divided in Fahrenheit's scale into 180 degrees, in the Centigrade into 100, in Réaumur's into 80. The symbol ° is used in this sense as in preceding; thus 32° Fahr. means ‘thirty-two degrees of Fahrenheit's scale’.
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1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Thermometer Various Methods have been proposed by various Authors, for finding a fix'd Point, or Degree of Heat and Cold, from which to account the other Degrees, and adjust the Scale.
1796 C. Hutton Math. & Philos. Dict. at Thermometer The distance between these two points he divided into 600 equal parts or degrees; and by trials he found at the freezing point..that the mercury stood at 32 of these divisions.
1812 H. Davy Elements Chem. Philos. 70 Raised from the degree of freezing to that of boiling water.
1877 H. Watts Dict. Chem. V. 762 at Thermometer Thermometers intended to show the 1/ 10 of a degree (Fahr.), should have degrees not less than 1/ 10 inch in length.
1877 H. Watts Dict. Chem. V. 763 For meteorological use, the degrees should still be etched on the glass, but may be repeated on the metal scale.
c. degree day n. a unit used to determine the heating requirements of buildings (see quots.). Also attributive.
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1930 Engineering 11 July 34/1 The term ‘degree-day’ is used in the United States to denote the difference in external temperature between the daily mean and 65° F; we have no similar recognized term here.
1958 Engineering 14 Mar. 322/3 The conception of Degree Days as a means of exercising control over heating installations and of forecasting fuel requirements is by no means a new one in this country. The London and Home Counties Coke Association started the first Degree Day Service in 1938.
1964 J. S. Scott Dict. Building 94 Degree-day value, a figure which describes the relative coldness of a site. It is based on the number of days yearly by which the average temperature falls below 60° F. in Britain... In USA..the temperature chosen for degree-day charts is 65° F.
11. Music. (a) The interval between any note of a scale (esp. the diatonic scale) and the next note. (b) Each of the successive notes forming the scale. (c) Each of the successive lines and spaces on the stave, which denote the position of the notes; the interval between two of these.
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society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > pitch > interval > [noun] > degree
degree1655
gradual tone1665
step1889
1597 T. Morley Plaine & Easie Introd. Musicke 12 Those which we now call Moodes, they tearmid degree of Musicke.]
1655 Campion's Art of composing Musick in Parts in J. Playford Introd. Skill Musick ii. 42 The parts part asunder, the one by degree, the other by leap.
1684 R. Howlett School Recreat. 115 The Five Lines and Spaces..are useful, as Steps or Gradations whereon the Degrees of Sound are to be expressed.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Conjoint Conjoint Degrees, are two Notes which immediately follow each other in the Order of the Scale.
1738 E. Chambers Cycl. (ed. 2) (at cited word) The musical Degrees are three; the greater tone, the lesser tone, and semi-tone.
1880 J. Stainer Composition iii All the degrees of a scale can be harmonized by chords formed by combining sounds of that scale.
1880 C. H. H. Parry in Grove Dict. Music (at cited word) The interval of a second is one degree, the interval of a third two degrees, and so on.
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the world > relative properties > number > mathematical notation or symbol > [noun] > figure > groupings of figures
bimedial1570
member1608
degree1678
period1678
octad1801
1678 J. Hawkins Cocker's Arithm. i. 6 A degree consists of three figures, (viz.) of three places comprehending Units Tens and Hundreds, so 365 is a degree.
a1690 S. Jeake Λογιστικηλογία (1696) 15 These places are distinguished into Degrees and Periods. Degrees are three; Once, Ten times, a Hundred times.
13. Algebra. The rank of an equation or expression as determined by the highest power of the unknown or variable quantity, or the highest dimensions of the terms, which it contains.Thus x3 + x2, x2y + xy, are both expressions of the third degree; the terms x3 and x2y being each of 3 dimensions. In algebraic geometry, the degree of a curve or surface is that of the equation expressing it. †parodic degree: see quot. 1727.
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the world > relative properties > number > algebra > [noun] > expression > the highest power of the variable
order1706
degree1727
1727 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. II Parodick Degree, (in Algebra) is the Index or Exponent of any Power; so in Numbers, 1. is the Parodick Degree, or Exponent of the Root or Side; 2. of the Square; 3. of the Cube, &c.
1796 C. Hutton Math. & Philos. Dict. (at cited word) Equations.. are said to be of such a degree according to the highest power of the unknown quantity.
1870 I. Todhunter Algebra for Schools ix. §166 An equation of the first degree cannot have more than one root.
1872 B. Williamson Elem. Treat. Differential Calculus xiv. §204 When the lowest terms in the equation of a curve are of the second degree, the origin is a double point.
1872 B. Williamson Elem. Treat. Differential Calculus xiv. §207 The curves considered in this Article are called parabolas of the third degree.
14. degree of freedom: see freedom n. 12.
Compounds
(In sense 7a.) C1.
degree-day n. (see also 10c).
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1832 J. Romilly Diary 9 May in Cambridge Diary (1967) 12 A Degree day: 2 hon. M.A., 6 M.A. & 17 B.A.
1867 G. M. Hopkins Let. to R. Bridges 5 Dec. (1935) 20 Would it be possible for you to see me on yr. way home? Certainly it would if the degree day does not fall too late.
1900 G. Swift Somerley 164 When the dance and degree-day were over.
degree factory n.
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1886 W. Hooper Sketches Acad. Life 51 It [an M.A. degree] had been obtained from one of these degree factories.
degree-fee n.
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1897 Daily News 23 Apr. 7/4 Many of the Degree-Fees have..been raised.
degree-level adj.
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1956 Nature 18 Feb. 296/2 A national council to control the award of..degree-level qualification.
C2.
degree-conferring adj.
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1903 Westm. Gaz. 11 July 2/2 The degree-conferring Universities of the United Kingdom.
1906 Daily Chron. 27 July 6/7 To make the Nottingham University College a degree-conferring University.
degree-granting adj.
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1895 Westm. Gaz. 27 July 5/3 It..had never been adequately encouraged by degree-granting Universities.
1896 Daily News 20 Feb. 5/4 The larger degree-granting institutions.
1967 Times 28 Feb. (Canada Suppl.) 36 Some 60 degree-granting universities and colleges in Canada.
C3.
degree-giving adj.
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1888 J. Bryce Amer. Commonw. III. cii. 462 They complain of the multiplication of degree-giving bodies.
1905 W. James in McClure's Mag. May 11/2 ‘Civilization’, with its herding and branding, licensing and degree-giving.
1946 Nature 19 Oct. 531/1 The difficulties..have led Lord Cherwell to propose the transfer of engineering training from the universities to degree-giving institutes of technology.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1894; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
degreev.
/dᵻˈɡriː/, U.S. /dəˈɡri/, /diˈɡri/ a. transitive. To advance by degrees; to lead or bring on step by step. Obsolete.
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the world > relative properties > quantity > increase in quantity, amount, or degree > [verb (transitive)] > increase by stages
degree1614
to step up1920
1614 T. Adams Diuells Banket iv. 168 Thus is the soules death degreed vp. Sinne gathers strength by custome, and creepes like some contagious disease..from ioynt to ioynt.
1628 O. Felltham Resolves: 2nd Cent. iii. sig. H3v I like that Loue, which by a soft ascension, does degree it selfe in the soule.
1636 T. Heywood Challenge for Beautie ii. sig. D2 Degree thy tortures, like an angry tempest, Rise calmely first, and keepe thy worst rage last.
a1670 J. Hacket Scrinia Reserata (1693) ii. 189 I will degree this noxious Neutrality one Peg higher.
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1638 T. Heywood Porta Pietatis sig. Cv There's not a stone that's laid in such foundation, But is a step degreeing to Salvation.
2. To confer a degree upon.
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society > education > educational administration > university administration > taking degree or graduation > take degree [verb (transitive)] > confer degree on
grade1563
commence1567
grace1573
graduate1588
manumise1619
laureate1637
manumita1662
degree1865
cap1881
1560 in J. Strype Ann. Reformation I. xvii. 215 Such as be degreed in the Universities.]
1865 A. D. Whitney Gayworthys ii. 23 A divine..degreed in due course, as Doctor Divinitatis.
1891 Sat. Rev. 22 Aug. 208 The Demographers..had the good fortune to be welcomed and degreed at Cambridge.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1894; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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