descender

American  

[dih-sen-der] / dɪˈsɛn dər /

noun

1. a person or thing that descends.

2. Printing.

   1. the part of a lowercase letter that goes below the body.

   2. a letter having such a part, as p, q, j, or y.

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descender British  

/ dɪˈsɛndə /

noun

1. a person or thing that descends

2. printing the portion of a letter, such as j, p, or y, below the level of the base of an x or n

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Etymology

Origin of descender

First recorded in 1660–70; descend + -er ¹

Example Sentences

There’s a warning out there that there may be gravel on the road as the descenders fly down.

From The Guardian

I want to be the smooth, speedy giant-slalom racing descender, but I'm not.

From Los Angeles Times

Ms. Grimmelsman says she is the better climber and her husband is the better descender.

From The Wall Street Journal

We slide fifty feet as I lose control of the descender.

From Literature

The plans would have seen riders timed on 10 downhill sections during the three-week race, with prizes for each day and the overall fastest descender.

From BBC