Main Entry: de·gree

Pronunciation: \di-ˈgrē\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French degré, from Vulgar Latin *degradus, from Latin de- + gradus

Date: 13th century

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
11 : one of the divisions or intervals marked on a scale of a measuring instrument; specifically : any of various units for measuring temperature
12 a : the sum of the exponents of the variables in the term of highest degree in a polynomial, polynomial function, or polynomial equation b : the sum of the exponents of the variable factors of a monomial c : the greatest power of the derivative of highest order in a differential equation after the equation has been rationalized and cleared of fractions with respect to the derivative

— de·greed \-ˈgrēd\ adjective

— to a degree 1 : to a remarkable extent : exceedingly <I felt desolate to a degree — Charlotte Brontë>
2 : in a small way <to a degree he succeeded>

[degree illustration]