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descender

[dih-sen-der]
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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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Origin of descender

First recorded in 1660–70; descend + -er1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for descender

Historical Examples

  • Basta descender cinco mil varas para pasar de los musgos del polo a las selvas del Ecuador.

    Heath's Modern Language Series: The Spanish American Reader

    Ernesto Nelson

British Dictionary definitions for descender

descender

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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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 descender

n.

in typography, "part of a letter that extends below the body," 1802, agent noun from descend.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper