Emily Dickinson Lexicon

GRADE, n. [Fr. grade; Sp. and It. grado; Port. grao; from L. gradus, a step; gradior, to step, to go; G. grad; D. graad; Dan. and Sw. grad, a step or degree; W. grâz, a step, degree, rank, from rhâz, a going forward or advance, Arm. radd. It may be from a common root with W. rhawd, way, course, rout; rhodiaw, to walk about; rhod, a wheel, L. rota. We observe by the Welsh that the first letter g is a prefix, and the root of the word then is Rd. We observe further, that the Latin gradior forms gressus, by a common change of d to s, or as it is in Welsh z (th.) Now if g is a prefix, then gressus (ressus) coincides with the Sw. resa, Dan. rejser, G. reisen, D. reizen, to go, to travel, to journey; D. reis, a journey or voyage. In Sw. and Dan. the verbs signify not only to travel, but to raise. Whether the latter word raise is of the same family, may be doubtful; but the others appear to belong to one radix, coinciding with the Syr. ܪܕܐ radah, to go, to walk; Ch. רדה, to open, expand, flow, instruct; Heb. to descend. A step then is a stretch, a reach of the foot. Class Rd, No. 1, 2, 26.]

1. A degree or rank in order or dignity, civil, military or ecclesiastical. J. M. Mason. Walsh. While questions, periods, and grades and privileges an never once formally discussed. S. Miller.
2. A step or degree in any ascending series; as, crimes of every grade. When we come to examine the intermediate grades. S. S. Smith.