Etymograph

English

degression

Degression comes from Latin degressus ‘having descended’, from gradior ‘to step, walk, go’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰredʰ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰredʰ-1‘to walk, go’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgradior2as gradi‘to step, walk, go’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdegredi2‘to descend by steps’next step skipped: Latin dēgredior
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdegressus2‘having descended’past perfect participle of degredi
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdegressio2
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1486degression2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin gradior
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English degression
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1486, Henry VII at York in Surtees Misc.: “For your blode this citie made never degression.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰredʰ-Wiktionary, Latin gradior‘to walk, go’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgradiorWiktionary, English degressionas gradi‘to step, walk, go’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdegrediWiktionary, English degression‘to descend by steps’next step skipped: Latin dēgredior
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdegressusWiktionary, English degression‘having descended’past perfect participle of degredi
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdegressioWiktionary, English degression
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1486degressionWiktionary, English degression. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1486, Henry VII at York in Surtees Misc.: “For your blode this citie made never degression.”

Linked words

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

graduate, progressive, progression, retrograde, gradation, gree, digression, 24 more

through Latin gradior ‘to step, walk, go’

progress, congress, ingredient, gradient, aggression, aggressor, digress, regress, 24 more

Today it means

noun Descent, the act of descending.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “degression”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin gradior. 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- / degression

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