degree

name

1. A surname.

noun

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

1. 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.”

2. 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.”

3. 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.”

4. The sum of the exponents of a term; the order of a polynomial.

   “A quadratic polynomial is a polynomial of degree 2.”

5. 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).”

6. The number of edges that a vertex takes part in; a valency.
7. The number of logical connectives in a formula.
8. The curvature of a circular arc, expressed as the angle subtended by a fixed length of arc or chord.
9. A unit of measurement of latitude and longitude which together identify a location on the Earth's surface.
10. Any of the stages (like positive, comparative, superlative, elative) in the comparison of an adjective or an adverb.
11. A step on a set of stairs; the rung of a ladder.
12. 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.”

13. 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.”

    “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 […]”

14. 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.”

15. 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.”

16. 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.”