descendant

American  

[dih-sen-duhnt] / dɪˈsɛn dənt /

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.

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

4. Astrology.

   1. the point opposite the ascendant.

   2. 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.

   3. the cusp of the seventh house.

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adjective

1. descending; descendent.

descendant ¹ British  

/ 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

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adjective

1. a variant spelling of descendent

Descendant ² British  

/ dɪˈsɛndənt /

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of descendant

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

Example Sentences

James Watson was born in Chicago in April 1928 to Jean and James, descendants of English, Scottish and Irish settlers.

From BBC

Chevron, which is a direct descendant of a small oil company founded in Southern California in the 1870s, has grown into a $300-billion global corporation.

From Los Angeles Times

Garvey envisaged a new nation built by the descendants of African slaves.

From Salon

Others, such as Elon Musk, talk about producing children as both necessary to offset declining population growth and a flex to colonize the galaxy with one’s descendants.

From The Wall Street Journal

The country’s minority whites, mainly descendants of Dutch and other European settlers in South Africa, are some of the richest in the continent’s most advanced economy, owning vast farmlands, factories and other business empires.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• heir
• offspring
• scion