descend
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descend
- /dɪˈsɛnd/ UK
- /dəˈsɛnd/ US
- /dɪˈsɛnd/ US
- /diˈsɛnd/ US
Rhymes with -ɛnd
Where it comes from
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.
verb descends · descending · descended · descend
- 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
- 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.
- To move (someone or something) from a higher to a lower place or position; to bring or send (someone or something) down. [T]he common Devv exhaled from ſome ſorts of Herbs or VVeeds, but eſpecially from the common Graſs, carries vvith it the Seminal Tincture of the Herb, vvhich being again deſcended by Devvs or Rain upon the bare and naked Earth, re-produceth the ſame Species: […]
- 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. And there is another watergang, called Haile Fayers watergang, 4 miles long and 16 feet broad, which descendeth by a spoye of stone at Hofkirk bridge into the said great river, which must always be cast at the tenants' cost.
- 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.
- Of a celestial body: to move away from the zenith towards the horizon; to sink; also, to move towards the south. [T]he ſetting Sun / Slowly deſcended, and with right aſpect / Againſt the eaſtern Gate of Paradiſe / Leveld his eevning Rayes: […]
- 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.
- 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.
- To slope or stretch downwards. Novv paſs'd the rugged road, they journey dovvn / The cavern'd vvay deſcending to the tovvn, […]
- To alight from a carriage, a horse, etc.; also, to disembark from a vessel; to land. Their ſails they loos'd, they laſh'd the maſt aſide, / And caſt their anchors, and the cables ty'd: / Then on the breezy ſhore deſcending, join / In grateful banquet o'er the roſy vvine.
- To come or go down, or reduce, in intensity or some other quality. […] VVinter comes on ſoftly, firſt by colde devves, then hoare froſts, vntill at laſt it deſcende to the hardeſt vveather of all: […]
- Of a physical thing (such as a cloud or storm) or a (generally negative) immaterial thing (such as darkness, gloom, or silence): to settle upon and start to affect a person or place. Death dvvels vvithin vs, and if gentle Peace / Diſcend not ſoone, our ſorrovves to ſurceaſe, / Latium (alreadie quaild) vvill be deſtroyd.
- In speech or writing: to proceed from one matter to another; especially, to pass from more general or important to specific or less important matters to be considered. But this ſubject begins to ſvvell beyond the bounds intended unto it, leſt therefore vvhat vve intended but a Tract ſhould ſvvell to a Tome, vve vvill here deſcend to matters of later date.
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Chiefly followed by into or to: of a situation: to become worse; to decline, to deteriorate.
The meeting descended into chaos.
Similar: degenerate
- Chiefly followed by on or upon: to make an attack or incursion, from or as if from a vantage ground; to come suddenly and with violence. When moving down against [him] thou descendest against the sleeping man unknowing, let Varuṇa cover me with a golden armor.
- Chiefly followed by on or upon: to arrive suddenly or unexpectedly, especially in a manner that causes disruption or inconvenience. My neighbour descended upon me just as I was walking out the door.
- To come down to a humbler or less fortunate, or a worse or less virtuous, rank or state; to abase or lower oneself; to condescend or stoop to something. He descended from his high estate.
- Chiefly in the form descend into (or within) oneself: to mentally enter a state of (deep) meditation or thought; to retire. VVhen I deſcend into my ſelf, and contemplat my moſt terrible horrible terribility, I can hardly hold my ſelf vvithin my ſelf; […]
- Of a sequence or series: to proceed from higher to lower values. Indefinite numbers I ſuppoſe to be intermediate Numbers lying betvveen finite and infinite: For as vve do not deſcend from 1 to 0 at one Step, but muſt paſs through an infinite Series of Fractions, ½, ⅓, ¼, ¹⁄₅, &c.
- To pass from a higher to a lower note or tone; to fall in pitch.
- To trace (a lineage) from earlier to later generations.
- Of a characteristic: to be transmitted from a parent to a child. [T]he eternal Mark of having had a vvicked Anceſtor deſcends to his Poſterity; his VVife is deprived of her Dovvry, and all his Deſcendants are made ignoble: […]
- Chiefly followed by from or (obsolete) of: to come down or derive from an ancestor or ancestral stock, or a source; to originate, to stem. The beggar may descend from a prince.
- Of property, a right, etc.: to pass down to a generation, a person, etc., by inheritance. The crown descends to the heir of the previous monarch.
noun descends
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Synonym of descent (“instance of descending; sloping incline or passage; way down; decline, etc.”).
[I]t ſhall be good if in your iourney you come to the deſcend of anye great Hil, to light from your Horſes backe, and to vvalke dovvne the hill a foote, […]
Similar: descent
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: come down, fall, go down, come, deign, condescend, derive, stoop, decline, lower, kill, dismount, shot, wend, arrive, get
Translations
Every language
verb to pass from a higher to a lower part of (something)
| Español | descender |
|---|---|
| Português | descer |
| Français | descendre |
| Deutsch | hinuntergehen |
verb to physically move or pass from a higher to a lower place or position
| Español | descender |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 내리다 naerida, 내려오다 naeryeooda, 내려가다 naeryeogada |
| 日本語 | 降下する kōkasuru, 降りる oriru |
| 中文 | 降, 下 xià, 下降 xiàjiàng |
| हिन्दी | उतरना utarnā |
| Kiswahili | kushuka |
| Português | descender, baixar, descer |
| Français | descendre |
| Deutsch | absteigen, herabsteigen, herunterkommen, niedergehen |
| Italiano | discendere, scendere |
| Ελληνικά | κατεβαίνω katevaíno |
| Română | coborî |
| Русский | спуска́ться spuskátʹsja, спусти́ться spustítʹsja, сходи́ть sxodítʹ, сойти́ sojtí |
| Tiếng Việt | xuống |
| العربية | نَزَلَ nazala |
| עברית | יָרַד yarád |
verb of a flight of stairs, a road, etc.: to lead down (a hill, a slope, etc.)
| Português | descer |
|---|
verb to move (someone or something) from a higher to a lower place or position
| Português | descer, baixar, abaixar |
|---|
verb to make an attack or incursion, from or as if from a vantage ground
| Русский | напада́ть napadátʹ, напа́сть napástʹ, обру́шиваться obrúšivatʹsja, обру́шиться obrúšitʹsja |
|---|
verb to pass from a higher to a lower note or tone; to fall in pitch
| Français | descendre |
|---|
verb of a characteristic: to be transmitted from a parent to a child
| Deutsch | abstammen |
|---|
verb to come down or derive from an ancestor or ancestral stock, or a source — see also originate, stem
| Español | descender |
|---|---|
| Română | descinde, proveni |
| Русский | происходи́ть proisxodítʹ, произойти́ proizojtí |
Talk about this word "descend." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/descend. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. descend. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/descend "descend." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/descend.
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BibTeX
@misc{descend_2026,
title = {descend},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/descend},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
