Able to be arranged in grades, levels, or degrees; capable of being assessed or ranked according to a scale.
From Latin gradus (step, degree) combined with the English suffix -able (capable of). The root gradus also gave us 'grade,' 'gradient,' and 'graduate.'
In linguistics, adjectives are divided into 'gradable' ones (you can be somewhat happy) and 'ungradable' ones (you can't be somewhat dead)—this distinction became crucial for understanding how language works.
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