gradus

¹ American  

[grey-duhs] / ˈgreɪ dəs /

noun

Music.

plural

graduses

1. a work consisting wholly or in part of exercises of increasing difficulty.

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gradus ² American  

[grey-duhs] / ˈgreɪ dəs /

noun

plural

graduses

1. a dictionary of prosody, especially one that gives word quantities and poetic phrases and that is intended to aid students in the writing of Latin and Greek verse.

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gradus British  

/ ˈɡreɪdəs /

noun

1. a book of études or other musical exercises arranged in order of increasing difficulty

2. prosody a dictionary or textbook of prosody for use in writing Latin or Greek verse

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Etymology

Origin of gradus¹

< Latin: grade, step

Origin of gradus²

First recorded in 1755–65; after Gradus ad Parnassum (a step to Parnassus), Latin title of a dictionary of prosody much used in English public schools during the 18th and 19th centuries

Example Sentences

O certus error! qui sub incerto vagum Suspendit aevum, mille per dolos viae5 Fugacis, et proterva per volumina Fluidi laboris, ebrios lactat gradus; Et irretitos ducit in nihilum dies.

From The Complete Works of Richard Crashaw, Volume II (of 2) by Crashaw, Richard

Qui quidem in eo loco invenit se distare per astrolabium ultra lineam equinoctialem gradus 35.

From The Discovery of America Vol. 1 (of 2) with some account of Ancient America and the Spanish Conquest by Fiske, John

Etsi enim gradus quidam sunt, tamen huc etiam refero baptismum infantum....

From The History of Freedom by Acton, John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, Baron

Sed Proculus Long� veniebat Julius Alb�; Lunaque fulgebat; nec facis usus erat: Cum subito motu nubes crepuere sinistr�: Retulit ille gradus, horrueruntque com�.

From Walks in Rome by Hare, Augustus J. C.

There can be no doubt that it was this passage which induced St. Liguori to conclude that if the gradus propinquior were the first or second, it should be expressed in the petition.

From The Irish Ecclesiastical Record, Volume 1, June 1865 by Various