Emily Dickinson Lexicon

degree (-s), n. [ME degre < OFr < L. grad-us, step.] (webplay: arts, circumference, rank).

1. Wisdom; advanced learning; higher education.
2. Accomplishment; achievement; victory.
3. Happiness; capacity for joy; [fig.] enlightenment; celestial glory.
4. Small increment; little distinction; tiny measurement; gradual unit of change; [fig.] drop in temperature; loss of body heat.
5. Qualification; merit; worthiness; proof of value.
6. Radius; proportion; division of a circle; measurement of the angle of a circle's segment; [fig.] one of the fifteen temple steps on which priests sang Psalms 120-134 before ascending into the holy court of the temple in Jerusalem.
7. Crescendo; gradual increase.
8. Diploma; credential; certificate of achievement.
9. Reputation; social class; socioeconomic status.
10. Augmentation of light; additional amount of reflection from the sun.
11. Longitude; [metonymy] climate zone; geographic area.
12. Marital status; domestic dignity; privilege of becoming a wife; the honor of having a household.
13. Surge of energy; [fig.] anticipation; thrill; excitement; exhilaration; elevation of emotion.
14. Honor; distinction; prestige; commendation; (see 1 Chronicles 17:17).
15. Orientation; direction on a compass; (see 2 Kings 20:9).
16. Gradation; distinction; separation; difference in level; [fig.] veil.
17. Token; symbol; [fig.] endowment; investiture; [metaphor] coronation.