descent

[ dih-sent ]
See synonyms for descent on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the act, process, or fact of moving from a higher to a lower position.

  2. a downward inclination or slope.

  1. a passage or stairway leading down.

  2. derivation from an ancestor; lineage; extraction.

  3. any passing from higher to lower in degree or state; decline.

  4. a sudden raid or hostile attack.

  5. Law. transmission of real property by intestate succession.

Origin of descent

1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French descente, derivative of descendre “to come down,” modeled on such pairs as vente, vendre; see origin at descend

word story For descent

Descent has been in the English language since the 14th century. The French word from which it descends, descendre, ultimately comes from a Latin term whose literal meaning is “to climb” (scandre) “down” (de-).
Though the word descent has been around for over half a millennium, some of its early senses are still in use. In the 1330s one use of descent described familial ancestry. Darwin popularized and expanded this term in Victorian England with his study of the origins of humans and our simian relatives from a common ancestor. This sense is very familiar to speakers of current English who have studied natural history. We also often hear descent in the context of ancestry such as “African descent” or “Scandinavian descent.” Another early use describes an object moving from a higher position to a lower position. Today, we still use this sense when talking about the downward movement of an airplane as it prepares to land. In religious contexts, one might hear about the Descent of Christ into Hell, a sense first appropriated in the 19th century.
Be careful not to confuse descent with decent. While it’s easy to leave out just one “s,” people are sure to express dissent (another word not to be confused with descent ) with your diction.

Other words for descent

Other words from descent

  • pre·de·scent, noun
  • re·de·scent, noun

Words that may be confused with descent

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for descent

descent

/ (dɪˈsɛnt) /


noun
  1. the act of descending

  2. a downward slope or inclination

  1. a passage, path, or way leading downwards

  2. derivation from an ancestor or ancestral group; lineage

  3. (in genealogy) a generation in a particular lineage

  4. a decline or degeneration

  5. a movement or passage in degree or state from higher to lower

  6. (often foll by on) a sudden and overwhelming arrival or attack

  7. property law (formerly) the transmission of real property to the heir on an intestacy

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