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Webster's Dictionary (1865)

Gra-dā'tion, n.

noun

n. [Lat. gradatio, Fr. gradation, Pr. gradatio, graduacio, O. Sp. gradacion, N. Sp. graduacion, It. gradazione, graduazione. See GRADE.]

  1. The act of progressing by regular steps or orderly arrangement; the state of being graded or arranged in ranks.
  2. Any degree or relative position in an order or series.

The several gradations of the intelligent universe. I. Taylor.

  1. (Fine Arts.) A suitable separation or arrangement of the parts of a work, so as to produce the proper effect; as, in painting, the gradual blending of one tint with another, and the like.
  2. (Mus.) A diatonic ascending or descending succession of chords.