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gradual.

Proceeding or advancing by small, slow, regular steps or degrees

7 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/ˈɡɹadʒuəl//ˈɡɹadʒəl//ˈɡɹadjuəl//ˈɡɹæd͡ʒuəl/General-American
  1. Proceeding or advancing by small, slow, regular steps or degrees

    a gradual increase of knowledge; a gradual decline
Where this word comes from

From Medieval Latin graduālis, from Latin gradus (“step”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰradʰ-, *gʰredʰ- (“to walk, go”). Cognate with Gothic 𐌲𐍂𐌹𐌸𐍃 (griþs, “step, grade”), Bavarian Gritt (“step, stride”).

noun/ˈɡɹadʒuəl//ˈɡɹadʒəl//ˈɡɹadjuəl//ˈɡɹæd͡ʒuəl/General-American
  1. An antiphon or responsory after the epistle, in the Mass, which was sung on the steps, or while the deacon ascended the steps.

  2. A service book containing the musical portions of the Mass.

Where this word comes from

From Medieval Latin graduālis, from Latin gradus (“step”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰradʰ-, *gʰredʰ- (“to walk, go”). Cognate with Gothic 𐌲𐍂𐌹𐌸𐍃 (griþs, “step, grade”), Bavarian Gritt (“step, stride”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.