Hmm...I wonder if "grad" might be an abbreviation for gradient? The scientific calculators I have used could do angular computations in three different units: degrees, radians, and gradients.
We never used gradients in any of my college classes, but I recall a professor referring to them as "grads" when he briefly mentioned degree/gradient conversion during a lesson on degree/radian conversion. -- Jason ----- Original Message ----- From: Joseph B. Reid <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: U.S. Metric Association <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, July 16, 2003 12:11 PM Subject: [USMA:26390] Re: French (and US) grade definition James Wentworth wrote in USMA 26388: >Joseph B. Reid <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > ><I have discovered a definition of the grade (1/100 of the right >angle) in French, see my USMA 26381.> > >That is the definition I was taught in school. A 0% grade road or field is >perfectly horizontal while a vertical wall or cliff has a 100% grade. The >math textbook mentioned that the grade (English spelling) is the French >grad, in which 400 grads make a complete circle (360�). I am gratified by >this because this is another example of "hidden" metric that Americans have >long used and accepted, even on road signs. -- Jason But the French word is grade. My Petit Robert French dictioary does not list grad My Muret-Sanders German-English dictionary gives 4 meanings for grad, but not in the sense that we are discussing. It has no entry for grade. -- Joseph B. Reid 17 Glebe Road West Toronto M5P 1C8 Telephone 416-486-6071
