descent
EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Middle English and Anglo-Norman descente, from Anglo-Norman descendre (“to descend”); see descend. Compare ascent, ascend.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
descent (countable and uncountable, plural descents)
- An instance of descending; act of coming down.
- We climbed the mountain with difficulty, but the descent was easier.
- 2012, July 15. Richard Williams in Guardian Unlimited, Tour de France 2012: Carpet tacks cannot force Bradley Wiggins off track
- The next one surrendered his bike, only for that, too, to give him a second flat as he started the descent.
- A way down.
- We had difficulty in finding the correct descent.
- A sloping passage or incline.
- The descent into the cavern was wet and slippery.
- Lineage or hereditary derivation.
- Our guide was of Welsh descent.
- A drop to a lower status or condition; decline. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
- After that, the holiday went into a steep descent.
- A falling upon or invasion.
- (topology) A particular extension of the idea of gluing. See Descent (mathematics).
Usage notesEdit
- Sometimes confused with decent.
AntonymsEdit
- (going down): ascent
Derived termsEdit
Related termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
instance of descending
way down
sloping passage or incline
lineage or hereditary derivation
|
drop to a lower status or condition
Further readingEdit
- descent in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- descent in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911