Engraad

Engraad is an Afrikaans noun referring to the degree or level of severity, intensity, or urgency of a situation. It is used to quantify how serious or pressing a condition, risk, or matter is, and can describe both abstract concepts (such as risk) and concrete states (such as a disease’s severity or a conflict’s intensity).

Etymology and sense: The word combines eng, meaning tight, severe, or anxious, with graad, meaning degree or grade. The compound conveys a sense of how far-reaching or urgent a given circumstance is, rather than just its existence. In many contexts it aligns with English phrases like severity level or degree of severity.

Usage: Engraad appears in risk assessment, safety planning, medical descriptions, and other evaluative contexts. Common collocations include hoë engraad (high severity), matige engraad (moderate severity), and engraad van gevaar (degree of danger). While it is most often encountered in Afrikaans-language texts, the concept corresponds to similar measurements in other languages, such as severity or danger level in English.

Notes: Engraad is a general descriptive term rather than a fixed technical standard; its exact interpretation can vary by field and context. In translations, it is typically rendered as severity level or degree of severity to convey the intended magnitude of the situation.

See also: Graad, Eng, Risiko, Severity (in medical or safety terminology).