The words "gradual" and "degree" share an ancestor in the Latin root word "gradi" meaning "to step, go." Latin speakers used "gradi" to form the noun "gradus" meaning "step." "Gradus" later became the Middle Latin word "gradualis" which English speakers adopted to form "gradual." Words related to "gradual" often have something to do with steps or with doing something by steps. For example, "degree" has the meaning "a step or stage in a process or series." And "grade," another relative, is used to mean "a stage, step, or degree in a series, order, or ranking."