The word "degree" has many meanings in mathematics.

The most common meaning is the unit of angle measure defined such that an entire rotation is . This unit harks back to the Babylonians, who used a base 60 number system. likely arises from the Babylonian year, which was composed of 360 days (12 months of 30 days each). The degree is subdivided into 60 arc minutes per degree, and 60 arc seconds per arc minute. In Mathematica, the symbol giving the number of radians in one degree is Degree.

The word "degree" is also used in many contexts where it is synonymous with "order," as applied for example to polynomials.

RELATED WOLFRAM SITES: http://functions.wolfram.com/Constants/Degree/

Bringhurst, R. The Elements of Typographic Style, 2nd ed. Point Roberts, WA: Hartley and Marks, p. 276, 1997.

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Weisstein, Eric W. "Degree." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Web Resource. http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Degree.html