grade [E16th] A grade is literally a step from Latin gradus ‘step’, and was originally used in English as a unit of measurement, a use largely replaced by *degree, from the same source. The word is also found in graduate [LME] ‘take a degree’, gradient [M17th], gradual [LME] ‘done by degrees’, and degrade [LME]. The expression to make the grade is an American expression from the early 20th century.