Etymograph

English

grade

Grade comes from Middle French grade ‘a grade’, from Latin gradus ‘a step’, ultimately from PIE *gʰradʰ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰradʰ-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*graðus1reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgradus1‘a step’
  4. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600grade1‘a grade’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1836grade1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English grade
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1836, John Greenleaf Whittier, Mogg Megone: “The whistle of the shot as it cuts the…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰradʰ-Wiktionary, English gradereconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*graðusWiktionary, English gradereconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgradusWiktionary, English grade‘a step’
  4. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600gradeWiktionary, English grade‘a grade’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1836gradeWiktionary, English grade. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1836, John Greenleaf Whittier, Mogg Megone: “The whistle of the shot as it cuts the…”

Word family

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

through Latin gradus ‘a step, pace, degree’

2 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

noun A rating.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “grade”. 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 *gʰradʰ- / grade