gradus

Gradus, gradus, m., fourth declension, from gradior, "to step". Genitive singular and nominative plural are both gradus and only the sentence separates them; the ablative gradu is the form that settles it.

The sense widens outwards from a single pace: a stair or step of a flight, a position taken up in battle, and then any rung on an ordered scale - military, social, ecclesiastical, academic, which is where a university degree comes from. Gradum facere is to take a step; gradum conferre is to close to hand-to-hand fighting; de gradu deicere is to knock a man off his footing, literally or in argument. English gets grade, gradual, degree, and through the verb, progress and aggression.