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Entry 3 senses · 2 variants Webster, 1913

Gradual

/grăj'-o͞o-əl/ · Grad·u·al · IPA /ˈɡɹæd͡ʒuəl/
01 a. Proceeding by steps or degrees; advancing, step by step, as in ascent or descent or from one state to another; regularly progressive; slow;…
  1. 1.
    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.
02 n. An antiphon or responsory after the epistle, in the Mass, which was sung on the steps, or while the deacon ascended the steps.
  1. 1.
    An antiphon or responsory after the epistle, in the Mass, which was sung on the steps, or while the deacon ascended the steps.(R. C. Ch.)
  2. 2.
    A series of steps.[Obs.]