1
general::
Also, to a certain degree; to some or a certain extent; to a degree or an extent. Somewhat, in a way, as in To some degree we'll have to compromise, or To an extent it's a matter of adjusting to the colder climate. The use of degree in these terms, all used in the same way, dates from the first half of the 1700s, and extent from the mid-1800s.
American Heritage Idioms