descendant

[ dih-sen-duhnt ]
See synonyms for: descendantdescendants on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a person or animal that is descended from a specific ancestor; an offspring.

  2. something deriving in appearance, function, or general character from an earlier form.

  1. an adherent who follows closely the teachings, methods, practices, etc., of an earlier master, as in art, music, philosophy, etc.; disciple.

  2. Astrology.

    • the point opposite the ascendant.

    • the point of the ecliptic or the sign and degree of the zodiac setting below the western horizon at the time of a birth or of an event.

    • the cusp of the seventh house.

Origin of descendant

1
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English descendaunt (adjective), from Old French descendant “going down,” present participle of descendre “to go down”; equivalent to descend + -ant

Words that may be confused with descendant

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use descendant in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for descendant (1 of 2)

descendant

/ (dɪˈsɛndənt) /


noun
  1. a person, animal, or plant when described as descended from an individual, race, species, etc

  2. something that derives or is descended from an earlier form

adjective
  1. a variant spelling of descendent

British Dictionary definitions for Descendant (2 of 2)

Descendant

/ (dɪˈsɛndənt) /


noun
  1. astrology the point on the ecliptic lying directly opposite the Ascendant

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012