## Meanings
1. The act of moving or coming down.
2. The family or ancestors a person comes from.
3. A fall to a lower or worse condition.
4. A path or slope leading downward.

## Examples
- We climbed the mountain with difficulty, but the descent was much easier.
- Our guide was of Welsh descent.
- After the scandal, his career went into a steep descent.
- The descent into the cavern was wet and slippery.

## Antonyms
- ascent

## Derived Forms
- hyperdescent
- hypodescent
- maldescent
- redescent

## Related Forms
- descend

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: descente
- Root: descendre

## Etymology
From Middle English and Anglo-Norman descente, from Anglo-Norman descendre (“to descend”); see descend. Compare ascent, ascend. Doublet of desant.

## AI Etymology
Descent is from Middle English and Anglo-Norman descente, from Anglo-Norman descendre (“to descend”); see descend. Compare ascent, ascend. Doublet of desant. In present-day use, it can mean the act of moving or coming down, or the family or ancestors a person comes from. Related forms include descend. Derived formations include hyperdescent, hypodescent, maldescent, redescent.

## Topics
- Space, Position & Direction
- Word Formation & Derivatives

markdown

descent

Meanings

Thesaurus

Common collocations

Etymology

Topics

External links

Keyboard Shortcuts

General

Send feedback