gradual : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: gradual	by the DICT Development Group
3 results for gradual
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
gradual adj proceeding in small stages; "a gradual increase in prices" Antonym(s): sudden (of a topographical gradient) not steep or abrupt; "a gradual slope" Antonym(s): steep n (Roman Catholic Church) an antiphon (usually from the Book of Psalms) immediately after the epistle at Mass
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Gradual \Grad"ual"\; a. [Cf; F. graduel. See {Grade}, and cf. {Gradual}, n.] Proceeding by steps or degrees; advancing, step by step, as in ascent or descent or from one state to another; regularly progressive; slow; as, a gradual* increase of knowledge; a gradual decline. Creatures animate with gradual life Of growth, sense, reason, all summed up in man. --Milton.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Gradual \Grad"ual\, n. [LL. graduale a gradual* (in sense 1), fr. L. gradus step: cf. F. graduel. See {Grade}, and cf. {Grail} a gradual.] 1. (R. C. Ch.) (a) An antiphon or responsory after the epistle, in the Mass, which was sung on the steps, or while the deacon ascended the steps. (b) A service book containing the musical portions of the Mass. 2. A series of steps. [Obs.] --Dryden.