1 result for: Descended

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
de·scend    Audio Help   (dĭ-sěnd')  Pronunciation Key 
v.   de·scend·ed, de·scend·ing, de·scends

v.   intr.
  1. To move from a higher to a lower place; come or go down.
  2. To slope, extend, or incline downward: "A rough path descended like a steep stair into the plain" (J.R.R. Tolkien).
    1. To come from an ancestor or ancestry: He was descended from a pioneer family.
    2. To come down from a source; derive: a tradition descending from colonial days.
    3. To pass by inheritance: The house has descended through four generations.
  3. To lower oneself; stoop: "She, the conqueror, had descended to the level of the conquered" (James Bryce).
  4. To proceed or progress downward, as in rank, pitch, or scale: titles listed in descending order of importance; notes that descended to the lower register.
  5. To arrive or attack in a sudden or an overwhelming manner: summer tourists descending on the seashore village.

v.   tr.
    1. To move from a higher to a lower part of; go down.
    2. To get down from: "People descended the minibus that shuttled guests to the nearby . . . beach" (Howard Kaplan).
  1. To extend or proceed downward along: a road that descended the mountain in sharp curves.


[Middle English descenden, from Old French descendre, from Latin dēscendere : dē-, de- + scandere, to climb; see skand- in Indo-European roots.]

de·scend'i·ble, de·scend'a·ble adj.
(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

View results from: Dictionary | Thesaurus | Encyclopedia | All Reference | the Web

Share This:   Share This: del.icio.usShare This: digg.comShare This: FacebookShare This: furl.netShare This: www.netscape.comShare This: myweb2.search.yahoo.comShare This: www.stumbleupon.comShare This: www.google.comShare This: www.technorati.comShare This: blinklist.comShare This: newsvine.comShare This: ma.gnolia.comShare This: reddit.comShare This: favorites.live.comShare This: tailrank.com

Perform a new search, or try your search for "Descended" at: