descend

 
Pronunciation: /dɪˈsɛnd/

verb

[no object]
  • 1move or fall downwards: the aircraft began to descend
  • [with object] move down (a slope or stairs): the vehicle descended a ramp
  • (of a road, path, or flight of steps) slope or lead downwards: a side road descended into the forest [with object]: a flight of stairs descended a steep slope
  • move down a scale of quality: (as adjective descending) the categories are listed in descending order of usefulness
  • Music (of sound) become lower in pitch: (as adjective descending) a passage of descending chords
  • (descend to) act in a shameful way that is far below one’s usual standards: he was scrupulous in refusing to descend to misrepresentation
  • (descend into) (of a situation or group of people) reach (an undesirable state): the army had descended into chaos
  • 2 (descend on/upon) make a sudden attack on: the militia descended on Rye
  • (descend on/upon) make an unexpected visit to: groups of visiting supporters descended on a local pub
  • (of a feeling) develop suddenly and affect a place or person: an air of gloom descended on Labour Party headquarters
  • (of night or darkness) begin to occur: as the winter darkness descended, the fighting ceased
  • 3 (be descended from) be a blood relative of (a specified ancestor): John Dalrymple was descended from an ancient Ayrshire family
  • (of an asset) pass by inheritance, typically from parent to child: his lands descended to his eldest son

Derivatives

descendent

adjective

Origin:

Middle English: from Old French descendre, from Latin descendere, from de- 'down' + scandere 'to climb'

Spelling help

Remember that descend and the related word descent are spelled with -sc- in the middle.