degree
noun/dɪˈɡɹiː/ · IN /ˈɖɪɡ.riː/
Etymology From Middle English degre, borrowed from Old French degré (French: degré), itself from Latin gradus, with the prefix de-.
16 senses
- 1A stage of proficiency or qualification in a course of…
- 2A unit of measurement of angle equal to ¹⁄₃₆₀ of a…
- 3A unit of measurement of temperature on any of several…
- 4The sum of the exponents of a term; the order of a polynomial.
- 5The dimensionality of a field extension.
- 6The number of edges that a vertex takes part in; a valency.
- 7The number of logical connectives in a formula.
- 8The curvature of a circular arc, expressed as the angle…
- 9A unit of measurement of latitude and longitude which…
- 10Any of the stages (like positive, comparative…
- 11A step on a set of stairs; the rung of a ladder.
- 12An individual step, or stage, in any process or scale of values.
- 13A stage of rank or privilege; social standing.
- 14A ‘step’ in genealogical descent.
- 15One's relative state or experience; way, manner.
- 16The amount that an entity possesses a certain property…
Education A stage of proficiency or qualification in a course of study, now especially an award bestowed by a university/college, as a certification of academic achievement. (In the United States, can include secondary schools.)
- She has two bachelor's degrees and is studying towards a master's degree.
Geometry, Mathematics, Sciences A unit of measurement of angle equal to ¹⁄₃₆₀ of a circle's circumference.
- A right angle is a ninety-degree angle.
- Most humans have a field of vision of almost 180 degrees.
Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Physics A unit of measurement of temperature on any of several scales, such as Celsius or Fahrenheit.
- 212 degrees Fahrenheit is equal to 100 degrees Celsius.
- Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.
Algebra, Mathematics, Sciences The sum of the exponents of a term; the order of a polynomial.
- A quadratic polynomial is a polynomial of degree 2.
Algebra, Mathematics, Sciences The dimensionality of a field extension.
- The set of complex numbers constitutes a field extension of degree 2 over the real numbers.
- The Galois field #92;operatorname#123;GF#125;(125)#61;#92;operatorname#123;GF#125;(5³) has degree 3 over its subfield #92;operatorname#123;GF#125;(5).
Graph theory, Mathematics, Sciences The number of edges that a vertex takes part in; a valency.
Human sciences, Logic, Mathematics, Philosophy, Sciences The number of logical connectives in a formula.
Geography, Natural sciences A unit of measurement of latitude and longitude which together identify a location on the Earth's surface.
Grammar, Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences Any of the stages (like positive, comparative, superlative, elative) in the comparison of an adjective or an adverb.
A step on a set of stairs; the rung of a ladder.
Obsolete outside heraldry
An individual step, or stage, in any process or scale of values.
- The chazzan-artist of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Eastern Europe where the chazzan reached the highest degree as an artist, casting from himself all those tasks historically associated with his office which drew him down to the station of beadle and servitor of the community.1929, Abraham Zevi Idelsohn, Jewish Music: Its Historical Development, page 181:
A stage of rank or privilege; social standing.
- And they axed hym ſayinge: Maſter / we knowe that thou ſayest / and teacheſt ryght / nether conſidereſt thou eny mãnes degre / but teacheſt the waye of god truely.1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, The Gospell off S. Luke xx:[21], folio cx, recto:
- But when Adam delued, and Eue ſpan, VVho was then a Gentleman. Brethren, brethren, it were better to haue this communitie, Then to haue this difference in degrees: The landlord his rent, the lawyer his fees. So quickly the poore mans ſubſtance is ſpent […]1593, anonymous author, The Life and Death of Iacke Straw […], →OCLC, Act I:
A ‘step’ in genealogical descent.
- Louis created the École militaire in Paris in 1751, in which 500 scholarships were designated for noblemen able to prove four degrees of noble status.2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin, published 2003, page 140:
Archaic One's relative state or experience; way, manner.
- If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me.1851, Herman Melville, Moby-Dick:
The amount that an entity possesses a certain property; relative intensity, extent.
- To what degree do the two accounts of the accident concur?
- In the old days, to my commonplace and unobserving mind, he gave no evidences of genius whatsoever. He never read me any of his manuscripts, […], and therefore my lack of detection of his promise may in some degree be pardoned.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
1 more example
- Then there are the sums that Abramovich would be permitted to invest within the parameters of the profit and sustainability rules – £105m over a rolling three-year period. That, plainly, has stopped and so, to repeat, it is imperative that the transfer of ownership happens with a degree of speed.March 11 2022, David Hytner, “Chelsea are in crisis but there is no will to leave club on their knees”, in The Guardian:
- Derived terms
94 terms
180-degree rule, 22-degree halo, 360-degree, 360 degree feedback, 45-degree rule, academic degree, advanced degree, arts degree, associate degree, associate's degree, bachelor degree, bachelor's degree, bidegree, codegree, combined degree, comparative degree, crank angle degree, degree absolute, degree Celsius, degree centigrade, degreed, degree-day, degree day, degree days, degree Fahrenheit, degree Kelvin, degreeless, degree mill, degree of comparison, degree of freedom, degree of frost, degree of glory, degree of ionization, degree of polymerization, degree place, degree Rankine, degree sequence, double degree, drinking man's degree, dual degree, equative degree, first-degree, first-degree burn, first-degree murder, first-degree relative, forbidden degree, foundation degree, fourth-degree, fourth-degree burn, gram degree, gramme degree, honorary degree, honorary master's degree, honors degree, honours degree, hyperdegree, in-degree, indegree, Lambeth degree, Levitical degree, master's degree, Mickey Mouse degree, microdegree, millidegree, Mrs. degree, multidegree, murder in the first degree, murder in the second degree, nondegree, out-degree, outdegree, pass degree, positive degree, predegree, sandwich degree, scale degree, second-degree, second-degree burn, second-degree murder, second-degree relative, square degree, subdegree, superlative degree, thick sandwich degree, thin sandwich degree, third degree, third-degree, third-degree burn, third-degree murder, third-degree relative, to a degree, to the nth degree, transcendence degree, Turing degree- Related terms
45 terms
successor, + =, + +... =, − =, × =, × ×... =, ÷ =, Or sometimes, =, √ =, log(base) =, astronomical, extreme, high, moderate, average, intermediate, underaverage, subaverage, low, small, very low, near zero, infinitesimal, zero, negative, extremely, very, moderately, considerably, nontrivially, a little, mildly, slightly, very slightly, not, not at all, size, value, extent, scope, quantity, Appendix:Roget MICRA thesaurus/Class I § 26. Degree, Appendix:Roget MICRA thesaurus/Class I § 31. Greatness, Appendix:Roget MICRA thesaurus/Class I § 32. Smallness- Coordinate terms
- scale