descended

[dih-sen-did]

adjective

1. having a specified ancestry or ethnic origin.

   She was the only daughter of a wealthy baron and his royally descended wife.

2. having gone from a higher place or position to a lower one.

   The cooled and descended air then travels along the earth’s surface toward the equator to replace air rising from the equatorial zone.

   He was hailed as some descended godhead on earth—an avatar.

3. inherited or transmitted, as through succeeding generations of a family.

   Early mammals generally possessed claws, and all existing cat species carry that descended trait.

4. derived from something in the remote past, especially through continuous transmission.

   Traditional religions tend to focus on descended practice and ritual rather than on doctrine taught by a religious institution.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of descend.

Other Word Forms

• undescended adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of descended¹

First recorded in 1560–70; descend ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; descend ( def. ) + -ed ¹ ( def. ) for the verb sense

Example Sentences

The two are escaping Tongatapu after the succession struggle descended into violence.

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More stunning views of the Pacific marked the first few miles as I climbed, then descended, and climbed some more.

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Stuart Williams, 36, Dean Smith, 51, and Martin Peagram, 33, were part of a "peaceful protest that descended into serious public disorder" in the Essex town on 17 July, prosecutors said.

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Tens of thousands of vibrantly dressed Ethiopians descended on downtown Addis Ababa for an annual thanksgiving festival this weekend.

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Local clubs had not been geared up for the sudden rush of Jonny Wilkinson wannabes that descended on them after his drop-kick landed World Cup glory.

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Related Words

• cascade 
• collapse 
• crash 
• dip 
• disembark 
• dive 
• go down 
• penetrate 
• plummet 
• plunge 
• settle 
• sink 
• slide 
• slip 
• stumble 
• subside 
• swoop 
• trickle 
• tumble