degree

A2 Topic:Education & Learning

US /dɪˈɡɹiː/ See IPA manual

Freq #3049

Meanings

1

noun
A unit for measuring temperature.

Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.
2

noun
A qualification given by a university after finishing a course of study.

She earned a degree in chemistry.
3

noun
A unit for measuring angles, where a full circle is 360 of them.

A right angle measures ninety degrees.
4

noun
The amount or level of something.

He showed a high degree of skill in the game.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a unit for measuring... °

2 noun · a qualification given by a... academic degree

3 noun · a unit for measuring... arcdegree°

4 noun · the amount or level of... level

More compass grade magnitude scale

Word family

Forms degdegreesdegs

Derived forms bidegreecodegreedegree-daydegreeddegreelessfirst-degreefourth-degreehyperdegreein-degreeindegreemicrodegreemillidegree

Related forms astronomical average considerably extent extreme extremely high infinitesimal intermediate low mildly moderate

Appears in

Phrases (2)

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Proverbs (2)

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Simplified etymology

Degree came into Middle English through French from a form based on Latin de-, “down,” and gradus, “step.” Its early senses included a step, tier, rank, or relative state; the academic sense arose because medieval qualifications were attained in stages or degrees. The underlying “step” idea also produced its uses in geometry, temperature measurement, and the phrase by degrees.

Etymology

From Middle English degre, borrowed from Old French degré (French: degré), itself from Latin gradus, with the prefix de-.

degre Middle English degré Old French gradus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Education & Learning

External links

# degree

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /dɪˈɡɹiː/
**Frequency rank:** 3049

## Meanings
1. A unit for measuring temperature.
2. A qualification given by a university after finishing a course of study.
3. A unit for measuring angles, where a full circle is 360 of them.
4. The amount or level of something.

## Examples
- Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.
- She earned a degree in chemistry.
- A right angle measures ninety degrees.
- He showed a high degree of skill in the game.

## Synonyms
- compass
- grade
- level
- magnitude
- scale

## Derived Forms
- bidegree
- codegree
- degree-day
- degreed
- degreeless
- first-degree
- fourth-degree
- hyperdegree
- in-degree
- indegree
- microdegree
- millidegree

## Related Forms
- astronomical
- average
- considerably
- extent
- extreme
- extremely
- high
- infinitesimal
- intermediate
- low
- mildly
- moderate

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: degre
- Root: degré
- Root: gradus

## Etymology
From Middle English degre, borrowed from Old French degré (French: degré), itself from Latin gradus, with the prefix de-.

## AI Etymology
degree comes from Middle English degre, borrowed from Old French degré (French: degré), itself from Latin gradus, with the prefix de-. The historical chain includes Middle English degre, Old French degré, Latin gradus. Current senses include A unit for measuring temperature and A qualification given by a university after finishing a course of study. English relatives and later formations include bidegree, codegree, degree-day, astronomical, average.

## Topics
- Education & Learning

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