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

Gressus denotes a step subjectively, whereas gradus objectively.

From Döderlein's Hand-book of Latin Synonymes by Döderlein, Ludwig

Upon the rim of the bowl is the following legend: "Bissenis bobus pastorum forma notatur, Quos et apostolice commendat gratia vite, Officiiq; gradus quo fluminis impetus bujus Letificat sanctam purgatis civibus urbem."

From The Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine by Mansfield, M. F. (Milburg Francisco)

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

To the reader under Anne it was otherwise, for to him "verdant isles" and "waving groves" and the whole farrago of gradus epithets were not only grateful but indispensable.

From Great Men and Famous Women, Vol. 7 A Series of Pen and Pencil Sketches of the Lives of More Than 200 of the Most Prominent Personages in History by Horne, Charles F. (Charles Francis)

The question of which Gury treats at page 594, is the necessity of mentioning the gradus propior, and not the gradus remotior, as stated in your correspondent's letter.

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