gradual

See also: graduál and graduał

English

Alternative forms

• graduall (obsolete)

Etymology

From Medieval Latin graduālis, from Latin gradus (“step”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰradʰ-, *gʰredʰ- (“to walk, go”). Cognate with Gothic 𐌲𐍂𐌹𐌸𐍃 (griþs, “step, grade”), Bavarian Gritt (“step, stride”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɡɹadʒuəl/, /ˈɡɹadjuəl/, /ˈɡɹadʒəl/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɡɹæd͡ʒuəl/, /ˈɡɹæd͡ʒəl/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈɡɹɛdʒʉɘl/, /ˈɡɹɛdʒɘl/
• Hyphenation: grad‧u‧al, grad‧ual, gradu‧al
• Rhymes: (General American) -ædʒəl

Adjective

gradual (comparative more gradual, superlative most gradual)

1. Proceeding or advancing by small, slow, regular steps or degrees

   a gradual increase of knowledge; a gradual decline

   • 1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

     Creatures animate with gradual life / Of growth, sense, reason, all summed up in man.

Synonyms

• stepwise

Antonyms

• sudden
• abrupt

Derived terms

• gradually
• gradual typing

 

Translations

proceeding by steps or small degrees

• Arabic: تَدْرِيجِيّ (tadrījiyy)
• Asturian: gradual
• Belarusian: паступо́вы (pastupóvy)
• Bulgarian: постепенен (bg) (postepenen)
• Catalan: gradual (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 逐漸的／逐渐的 (zhújiàn de), 平緩的／平缓的 (pínghuǎn de) (of a slope)

• Czech: postupný (cs), stupňovitý
• Danish: gradvis, trinvis
• Dutch: geleidelijk (nl), gestaag (nl)
• Esperanto: malabrupta
• Finnish: asteittainen (fi), vähittäinen
• French: graduel (fr)
• Galician: gradual (gl)
• German: allmählich (de), graduell (de), schrittweise zunehmend
• Greek: σταδιακός (el) (stadiakós), βαθμιαίος (el) (vathmiaíos)
• Hungarian: fokozatos (hu)
• Irish: dréimreach
• Italian: graduale (it)
• Macedonian: постепен (postepen)
• Occitan: gradual (oc)
• Polish: stopniowy (pl)
• Portuguese: gradual (pt)
• Russian: постепе́нный (ru) (postepénnyj), пла́вный (ru) (plávnyj)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: по̀ступан

  Latin: pòstupan (sh)

• Spanish: gradual (es), paulatino (es)
• Swedish: gradvis (sv)
• Ukrainian: поступо́вий (postupóvyj)

See also

• insidious

Noun

gradual (plural graduals)

1. (Christianity) An antiphon or responsory after the epistle, in the Mass, which was sung on the steps, or while the deacon ascended the steps.
2. (Christianity) A service book containing the musical portions of the Mass.

Translations

antiphone or responsory

• Bulgarian: тропар m (tropar)
• Danish: graduale n
• Finnish: graduaali
• Italian: graduale (it) m
• Latin: graduāle n
• Occitan: gradual (oc) m
• Polish: graduał (pl) m

service book

• Danish: graduale n
• Finnish: graduaali, messulaulukirja
• Italian: graduale (it) m
• Latin: graduāle n
• Occitan: gradual (oc) m
• Polish: graduał (pl) m

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin graduālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ɡɾə.ðuˈal]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ɡɾa.ðuˈal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Hyphenation: gra‧du‧al

Adjective

gradual m or f (masculine and feminine plural graduals)

1. gradual

Derived terms

• gradualment

Related terms

• grau

Further reading

• “gradual” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “gradual”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “gradual” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “gradual” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Galician

Etymology

From Medieval Latin graduālis.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ɡɾaduˈal/ [ɡɾa.ð̞uˈɑɫ]

• IPA^(key): (standard) /ɡɾaduˈal/ [ɡɾa.ð̞uˈɑɫ]
• IPA^(key): (gheada) /ħɾaduˈal/ [ħɾa.ð̞uˈɑɫ]

• Rhymes: -al
• Hyphenation: gra‧du‧al

Adjective

gradual m or f (plural graduais)

1. gradual

Derived terms

• gradualmente

Related terms

• grao

Further reading

• “gradual”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, since 2012

Portuguese

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin graduālis.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ɡɾa.duˈaw/ [ɡɾa.dʊˈaʊ̯], (faster pronunciation) /ɡɾaˈdwaw/ [ɡɾaˈdwaʊ̯]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ɡɾɐˈdwal/ [ɡɾɐˈðwaɫ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ɡɾɐˈdwal/ [ɡɾɐˈðwaɫ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ɡɾɐˈdwa.li/ [ɡɾɐˈðwa.li]

• Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
• Hyphenation: gra‧du‧al

Adjective

gradual m or f (plural graduais, comparable, comparative mais gradual, superlative o mais gradual or gradualíssimo)

1. gradual

Derived terms

• gradualmente

Further reading

• “gradual” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin graduālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡɾaˈdwal/ [ɡɾaˈð̞wal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: gra‧dual

Adjective

gradual m or f (masculine and feminine plural graduales)

1. gradual

Derived terms

• gradualidad
• gradualmente

 

Related terms

• grado
• graduar

 

Noun

gradual m (plural graduales)

1. (Roman Catholicism) gradual

Further reading

• “gradual”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014