11 results for: descent

Descent Definition
What Is Descent? Find Out w/the Dictionary Toolbar
Dictionary.alottoolbars.com

Sponsored Link

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

de·scent

Audio Help [di-sent] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	the act, process, or fact of descending.

2.	a downward inclination or slope.

3.	a passage or stairway leading down.

4.	derivation from an ancestor; lineage; extraction.

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

6.	a sudden raid or hostile attack.

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

[Origin: 1300–50; ME < AF, OF descente, deriv. of descendre to descend, modeled on such pairs as vente, vendre

]

—Synonyms 1. falling, sinking. 2. decline, grade, declivity. 4. ancestry, parentage. 6. assault, foray.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
descent

To learn more about descent visit Britannica.com

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

de·scent Audio Help (dĭ-sěnt') Pronunciation Key
n.

The act or an instance of descending.
A way down.
A downward incline or passage; a slope.
1. Hereditary derivation; lineage: a person of African descent.
2. One generation of a specific lineage.
3. The fact or process of coming down or being derived from a source: a paper tracing the descent of the novel from old picaresque tales.
4. Development in form or structure during transmission from an original source.
1. The fact or process of coming down or being derived from a source: a paper tracing the descent of the novel from old picaresque tales.
2. Development in form or structure during transmission from an original source.
Law Transference of property by inheritance.
A lowering or decline, as in status or level: Her career went into a rapid descent after the charges of misconduct.
A sudden visit or attack; an onslaught.

[Middle English, from Old French, descent, from feminine past participle of descendre, to descend; see descend.]

(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.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

descent
noun
1.	a movement downward
2.	properties attributable to your ancestry; "he comes from good origins" [syn: origin]
3.	the act of changing your location in a downward direction
4.	the kinship relation between an individual and the individual's progenitors
5.	a downward slope or bend [ant: acclivity]
6.	the descendants of one individual; "his entire lineage has been warriors"

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
deˈscent1 [-t] noun

the act of descending
Example: The descent of the hill was quickly completed.

Arabic:	إنْحِدار
Chinese (Simplified):	下降
Chinese (Traditional):	下降
Czech:	sestup
Danish:	nedstigning
Dutch:	afdaling
Estonian:	laskumine
Finnish:	laskeutuminen
French:	descente
German:	der Abstieg
Greek:	κάθοδος
Hungarian:	leereszkedés
Icelandic:	niðurferð, niðurkoma
Indonesian:	penurunan
Italian:	discesa

Japanese:	降下
Korean:	하강
Latvian:	nokāpšana; nolaišanās
Lithuanian:	nusileidimas
Norwegian:	nedstigning
Polish:	zejście
Portuguese (Brazil):	descida
Portuguese (Portugal):	descida
Romanian:	coborâre
Russian:	спуск
Slovak:	zostup
Slovenian:	sestop
Spanish:	descenso
Swedish:	nedstigande, nedgång, nedfärd
Turkish:	iniş

deˈscent2 [-t] noun

a slope
Example: That is a steep descent.

Arabic:	مُنْحَدَر
Chinese (Simplified):	斜坡
Chinese (Traditional):	斜坡
Czech:	svah
Danish:	skrænt
Dutch:	helling
Estonian:	mäeveer
Finnish:	rinne
French:	pente
German:	die Senkung
Greek:	κατήφορος
Hungarian:	lejtő
Icelandic:	brekka
Indonesian:	lereng
Italian:	discesa

Japanese:	下り坂
Korean:	내리막길
Latvian:	nogāze
Lithuanian:	nuokalnė
Norwegian:	nedoverbakke
Polish:	zbocze
Portuguese (Brazil):	descida
Portuguese (Portugal):	descida
Romanian:	pantă
Russian:	склон
Slovak:	svah
Slovenian:	pobočje
Spanish:	pendiente, declive, bajada
Swedish:	sluttning, nedförsbacke
Turkish:	bayır iniş

deˈscent3 [-t] noun

family; ancestry
Example: She is of royal descent.

Arabic:	أصْل، نَسَب، سُلالَه
Chinese (Simplified):	血统
Chinese (Traditional):	血統
Czech:	původ
Danish:	afstamning
Dutch:	afkomst
Estonian:	sünnipära
Finnish:	syntyperä
French:	origine
German:	die Abstammung
Greek:	καταγωγή, οικογενειακή προέλευση
Hungarian:	leszármazás
Icelandic:	ætterni
Indonesian:	keluarga
Italian:	discendenza, famiglia

Japanese:	家系
Korean:	출신, 혈통
Latvian:	izcelsme
Lithuanian:	kilmė, kilimas
Norwegian:	ætt, avstamning, arv
Polish:	pochodzenie
Portuguese (Brazil):	ascendência
Portuguese (Portugal):	descendência
Romanian:	descendenţă
Russian:	происхождение
Slovak:	pôvod
Slovenian:	rod
Spanish:	ascendencia
Swedish:	härkomst, börd
Turkish:	ata, soy

See also: be descended from, descendant, descend

American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

de·scent (d-snt)
n.

The process of descending or falling down from a higher position.
The passage of the presenting part of the fetus into and through the birth canal.

Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Main Entry: de·scent
Pronunciation: di-'sent
Function: noun
1 : the act or process of descending from a higher to a lower location <descent of the testes into the scrotum>
2 a : derivation from an ancestor b : the fact or process of originating by generation from an ancestral stock (as a species or genus)
3 : a former method of distillation in which the material was heated in a vessel having its outlet underneath so that the vapors produced were forced to descend

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This

Main Entry: de·scent
Function: noun
: transmission or devolution of the estate of a person who has died without a valid will —compare DISTRIBUTION

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Descent

As*cent"\ [Formed like descent, as if from a F. ascente, fr. a verb ascendre, fr. L. ascendere. See Ascend, Descent.]

1. The act of rising; motion upward; rise; a mounting upward; as, he made a tedious ascent; the ascent of vapors from the earth.

To him with swift ascent he up returned. --Milton.

2. The way or means by which one ascends.

3. An eminence, hill, or high place. --Addison.

4. The degree of elevation of an object, or the angle it makes with a horizontal line; inclination; rising grade; as, a road has an ascent of five degrees.

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