DESCEND

descend, fall, go down, come down

(verb) move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way; “The temperature is going down”; “The barometer is falling”; “The curtain fell on the diva”; “Her hand went up and then fell again”

condescend, deign, descend

(verb) do something that one considers to be below one’s dignity

derive, come, descend

(verb) come from; be connected by a relationship of blood, for example; “She was descended from an old Italian noble family”; “he comes from humble origins”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Verb

descend (third-person singular simple present descends, present participle descending, simple past and past participle descended)

(intransitive) To pass from a higher to a lower place; to move downwards; to come or go down in any way, for example by falling, flowing, walking, climbing etc.

(intransitive, poetic) To enter mentally; to retire.

(intransitive, with on or upon) To make an attack, or incursion, as if from a vantage ground; to come suddenly and with violence.

(intransitive) To come down to a lower, less fortunate, humbler, less virtuous, or worse, state or rank; to lower or abase oneself

(intransitive) To pass from the more general or important to the specific or less important matters to be considered.

(intransitive) To come down, as from a source, original, or stock

to be derived (from)

to proceed by generation or by transmission; to happen by inheritance.

(intransitive, astronomy) To move toward the south, or to the southward.

(intransitive, music) To fall in pitch; to pass from a higher to a lower tone.

(transitive) To go down upon or along; to pass from a higher to a lower part of

Synonyms

• go down

Antonyms

• ascend

• go up

Anagrams

• scended

Source: Wiktionary


De*scend", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Descended; p. pr. & vb. n. Descending.] Etym: [F. descendre, L. descendere, descensum; de- + scandere to climb. See Scan.]

1. To pass from a higher to a lower place; to move downwards; to come or go down in any way, as by falling, flowing, walking, etc.; to plunge; to fall; to incline downward; -- the opposite of ascend. The rain descended, and the floods came. Matt. vii. 25. We will here descend to matters of later date. Fuller.

2. To enter mentally; to retire. [Poetic] [He] with holiest meditations fed, Into himself descended. Milton.

3. To make an attack, or incursion, as if from a vantage ground; to come suddenly and with violence; -- with on or upon. And on the suitors let thy wrath descend. Pope.

4. To come down to a lower, less fortunate, humbler, less virtuous, or worse, state or station; to lower or abase one's self; as, he descended from his high estate.

5. To pass from the more general or important to the particular or less important matters to be considered.

6. To come down, as from a source, original, or stock; to be derived; to proceed by generation or by transmission; to fall or pass by inheritance; as, the beggar may descend from a prince; a crown descends to the heir.

7. (Anat.)

Definition: To move toward the south, or to the southward.

8. (Mus.)

Definition: To fall in pitch; to pass from a higher to a lower tone.

De*scend", v. t.

Definition: To go down upon or along; to pass from a higher to a lower part of; as, they descended the river in boats; to descend a ladder. But never tears his cheek descended. Byron.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

25 November 2024

ONCHOCERCIASIS

(noun) infestation with slender threadlike roundworms (filaria) deposited under the skin by the bite of black fleas; when the eyes are involved it can result in blindness; common in Africa and tropical America


Do you know this game?

Wordscapes

Wordscapes is a popular word game consistently in the top charts of both Google Play Store and Apple App Store. The Android version has more than 10 million installs. This guide will help you get more coins in less than two minutes of playing the game. Continue reading Wordscapes: Get More Coins