descendant

[dih-sen-duh nt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR descendant ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

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

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

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.

adjective

descending; descendent.

Origin of descendant

1425–75; late Middle English descendaunt (adj.) < Old French descendant, present participle of descendre. See descend, -ant

Can be confusedancestor descendant

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for descendants

heir, offspring, scion, product, brood, get, progeny, offshoot, spin-off, seed, kin, child, posterity, issue, children

Examples from the Web for descendants

Contemporary Examples of descendants

The story (and some DNA evidence) goes, the locals are the descendants of a band of Roman soldiers from 36 B.C.
The Chinese Town Descended From Romans?
Nina Strochlic
December 4, 2014
Washington was a passionate advocate for an intensely practical education for ex-slaves and their descendants.
College Must Be More Than Just a Classy Trade School
Michael S. Roth
August 30, 2014
The discussion of reparations for descendants of slaves saw some chatter this year after a piece in The Atlantic.
Sherman Alexie on His New Film, the Redskins, and Why It's OK to Laugh at His Work
William O’Connor
August 22, 2014
At the same event, another speaker reportedly referred to Jews as “descendants of monkeys and pigs.”
Pope Francis’s Sister Souljah Moment?
Evan Gahr
May 23, 2014
What this means is that the idea of popes as descendants of St. Peter is about controlling bishops, not churchgoers.
Who Really Put the Pope in Charge?
Candida Moss
April 27, 2014

Historical Examples of descendants

The fate of the ancestor had been typical of that of his descendants.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle
It is doubtful whether Palaeolithic man has left any descendants.
English Villages
P. H. Ditchfield
Sir, may we know who are the descendants of the New England kidnappers?
Slavery Ordained of God
Rev. Fred A. Ross, D.D.
Each individual, therefore, continues to live in his descendants.
The Sexual Question
August Forel
It is our duty to our descendants to contribute as far as is in our power to its accomplishment.
The Sexual Question
August Forel

British Dictionary definitions for descendants

descendant

noun

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

something that derives or is descended from an earlier form

adjective

a variant spelling of descendent

Descendant

noun

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

Word Origin and History for descendants

descendant

mid-15c. (adj.), c.1600 (n.), from French descendant (13c.), present participle of descendre (see descend). Despite a tendency to use descendent for the adjective and descendant for the noun, descendant seems to be prevailing in all uses and appears 5 times more often than its rival in books printed since 1900. Cf. dependant.