Degree (geometry)

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The degree of an angle is a measurement of the angle, representing $\frac1{360}$ of a full rotation.

Degrees are indicated by the degree symbol; one degree would be written $1^{\circ}$ .

Degrees are the only units written right after a number, without a space (e.g. $90^{\circ}$ , not $90\,^{\circ}$ )

History

The number 360 as the amount of degrees in a circle was probably adopted because it approximates the number of days in a year.

Another reason could be that ancient astronomers noticed that the stars in the sky seem to advance by approximately $\frac1{360}$ of a circle.