Etymograph

English

degree

Degree comes from Middle English degre ‘a degree or generation of ancestry’, from Old French degré ‘step’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰredʰ- ‘to walk, go’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰredʰ-1‘to walk’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*graðus1reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgradus2‘a step’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400degré2‘step’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500degre2‘a degree or generation of ancestry’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1526degree2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin gradus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English degree
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1526, [William Tyndale, The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible): “And they axed hym ſayinge: Maſter / we knowe…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰredʰ-Wiktionary, Latin gradus‘to walk’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*graðusWiktionary, Latin gradusreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgradusWiktionary, English degree‘a step’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400degréWiktionary, English degree‘step’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500degreWiktionary, English degree‘a degree or generation of ancestry’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1526degreeWiktionary, English degree. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1526, [William Tyndale, The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible): “And they axed hym ſayinge: Maſter / we knowe…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with degree, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *gʰredʰ- ‘to walk, go’

  • congress ← congressum ← congredior ← gradior
  • progress ← progresse ← progres ← prōgressus ← prōgredior
  • aggression ← aggressiō ← aggredior ← gradior
  • ingredient ← ingrediens ← ingredior ← gradior
  • gradient ← gradiēns ← gradior
  • aggressor ← aggredior ← gradior
  • retrograde ← retrograd ← retrōgradus
  • digress ← dīgressum ← dīgressus ← dīgredior ← gradior
  • regress ← regressus ← regredior ← gradior

through Latin gradus ‘a step, pace’

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Today it means

noun A completed curriculum of study in tertiary education.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “degree”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin gradus. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gʰredʰ- / degree