descent
EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Middle English and Anglo-Norman descente, from Anglo-Norman descendre (“to descend”); see descend. Compare ascent, ascend. Doublet of desant.
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.
- 1961 October, "Voyageur", “The Cockermouth, Keswick & Penrith Railway”, in Trains Illustrated, page 601:
- To the north the towering scree-strewn slopes of Saddleback begin to draw nearer as we start the abrupt descent towards Keswick.
- 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
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way down
sloping passage or incline
lineage or hereditary derivation
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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, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.