Meaning of gradual in English
Noun
gradualDefinitions
1. (Roman Catholic Church) an antiphon (usually from the Book of Psalms) immediately after the epistle at MassQualitative Adjective
gradualEtymology
late Middle English: from medieval Latin gradualis, from Latin gradus‘step’. The original sense of the adjective was ‘arranged in degrees’; the noun refers to the altar steps in a church, from which the antiphons were sungDefinitions
1. proceeding in small stagesExamples
- « a gradual increase in prices »
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- 2. of a topographical gradient
Examples
- « not steep or abrupt »
- « a gradual slope »
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