Main Entry: ¹grade

Pronunciation: \ˈgrād\

Function: noun

Etymology: Latin gradus step, degree, from Latin gradi to step, go; akin to Lithuanian gridyti to go, wander

Date: 1526

1 a (1) : a position in a scale of ranks or qualities (2) : a stage in a process b : a degree of severity in illness <grade III carcinoma> c : a class organized for the work of a particular year of a school course d : a military or naval rank
2 a : a class of things of the same stage or degree b : a mark indicating a degree of accomplishment in school c : a standard of food quality
3 a : the degree of inclination of a road or slope; also : a sloping road b : a datum or reference level; especially : ground level
4 : a domestic animal with one parent purebred and the other of inferior breeding
5 plural : the elementary school system

— grade·less \-ləs\ adjective