Gradient

[grey-dee-uh nt] /ˈgreɪ di ənt/

noun
1.
the degree of inclination, or the rate of ascent or descent, in a highway, railroad, etc.
2.
an inclined surface; grade; ramp.
3.
Physics.

4.
Mathematics. a differential operator that, operating upon a function of several variables, results in a vector the coordinates of which are the partial derivatives of the function. Symbol: ∇.
Abbreviation: grad.
adjective
5.
rising or descending by regular degrees of inclination.
6.
progressing by walking; stepping with the feet as animals do.
7.
of a type suitable for walking or running, as the feet of certain birds; gressorial.
/ˈɡreɪdɪənt/
noun
1.
Also called (esp US) grade. a part of a railway, road, etc, that slopes upwards or downwards; inclination
2.
Also called (esp US and Canadian) grade. a measure of such a slope, esp the ratio of the vertical distance between two points on the slope to the horizontal distance between them
3.
(physics) a measure of the change of some physical quantity, such as temperature or electric potential, over a specified distance
4.
(maths)

adjective
5.
sloping uniformly
n.

“steep slope of a road or railroad,” 1835, principally in American English, from grade (n.) by analogy of quotient, etc. It was used 17c. as an adjective, of animals, “characterized by walking;” in that case probably from Latin gradientem, present participle of gradi “to walk.”

gradient gra·di·ent (grā’dē-ənt)
n.

gradient
(grā’dē-ənt)