descend
UK /dɪˈsɛnd/ · US /dəˈsɛnd/ verb, noun
Forms descends descending descended descendest descendedst descendeth
- verb (transitive) To pass from a higher to a lower part of (something, such as a flight of stairs or a slope); to go down along or upon. “they descended the river in boats”
- verb (transitive) Of a flight of stairs, a road, etc.: to lead down (a hill, a slope, etc.). “They took the steep path that descends the hill down to the beach.”
- verb (transitive, archaic) To move (someone or something) from a higher to a lower place or position; to bring or send (someone or something) down.
- verb (intransitive) To physically move or pass from a higher to a lower place or position; to come or go down in any way, such as by climbing, falling, flowing, walking, etc.; to move downwards; to fall, to sink.
- verb (astrology) Of a zodiac sign: to move away from the zenith towards the horizon; to sink; also, of a planet: to move to a place where it has less astrological significance.
- verb (astronomy) Of a celestial body: to move away from the zenith towards the horizon; to sink; also, to move towards the south.
- verb (biology, physiology) Of a body part: to move downwards, especially during development of the embryo; specifically, of the testes of a mammal: to move downwards from the abdominal cavity into the scrotum. “Cryptorchidism is the failure of one or both testes to descend into the scrotum.”
- verb (chemistry, obsolete) Of a liquid substance: to distil out from another substance and gather at the bottom of a container; also, to distil a substance to obtain another liquid substance in this manner.
- noun (archaic) Synonym of descent (“instance of descending; sloping incline or passage; way down; decline, etc.”).
Synonyms
degenerate descent fall go down come down derive come condescend deign settle
Antonyms
Etymology
The verb is derived from Middle English descenden (“to move downwards, fall, descend; to slope downwards; to go from a better to a worse condition, decline, degenerate; to be a descendant, derive from (a source); etc.”), from Anglo-Norman descendere, descendre, and Old French descendere, descendre (“to move downwards, fall, descend; to slope downwards; to be a descendant, derive from (a source); etc.”) (modern French descendre), and from their etymon Latin dēscendere, the present active infinitive of dēscendō (“to come or go down, fall, descend; to slope downwards; to be a descendant; etc.”), from de- (prefix meaning ‘from; down from’) + scandō (“to ascend, climb; to clamber”) (from Proto-Indo-European *skend- (“to climb, scale; to dart; to jump”)).
The noun is derived from the verb.
Webster’s 1913
- verb 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.
- verb To enter mentally; to retire. [Poetic]
- verb 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.
Etymology [F. descendre, L. descendere, descensum; de- + scandere to climb. See Scan.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “descend”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details