də̇ˈsend, dēˈ- verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English descenden, from Old French descendre, from Latin descendere, from de- + -scendere (from scandere to climb) — more at scan
intransitive verb
1. : to go or come down:
a. : to pass from a higher place or spatial level to a lower one : move downward
these fish winter up the river … and descend to the sea … in the spring — Biological Abstracts
the river descends 18 feet in one mile
the paper descends from one roller onto another
b. : to appear or enter from above or from a spiritual realm
to her it seemed that a god had descended from the blue sky personally to aid her — Charles Beadle
he felt a great being descending into him and strengthening him — W.B.Yeats
specifically : to settle down like a blanket or curtain
the sound that irresistibly you make when death is about to descend — F.M.Ford
c. archaic : to withdraw or retreat from social intercourse and seclude oneself in personal or mental absorption
d. of the testes of a mammal : to pass from the abdominal cavity into the scrotum
2. : to pass in discussion from what in logical order precedes or from what is the more comprehensive or universal
ascend to causes, descend to consequences
the writer descends from the general to the particular — Times Literary Supplement
3.
a. : to come down or spring from a stock or source : originate , derive
the family descended from Scotch-Irish immigrants who came to America in the 18th century
historians report that he descended from an ancient family of noble lineage
b. : to pass by inheritance
that kingship was divinely ordained to descend according to strict hereditary principles — J.H.Plumb
heirlooms which have descended in families since the original Pennsylvania Dutch immigrants arrived — V.R.Tortora
c. : to pass by transmission : take origin or pattern or acquire character from a precursor
songs descended from early ballads
if, as some scholars believe, Greek liturgical music descends from the hymns to the Olympian gods — New York Times
4. : to incline, lead, or extend downward : form or follow a downgrade
the coastal mountains descended precipitously to the very edge of the Pacific — R.A.Billington
the road descends to the flatland
5.
a. : to swoop or pounce down or make a sudden attack — usually used with on or upon
the plague descended upon them
if the enemy descended on his country
b. : to converge or materialize as if from above with disconcerting abruptness or in formidable array — used with on or upon
one evening the police descended quietly, without warning, on a dozen or so drive-in taverns — Green Peyton
over a hundred newspaper reporters from all over America descended upon this amazed little southern town to cover the trial — R.W.Murray
also : to make a startling or exciting visitation
the most famous visitors, licit or otherwise, to descend on the island — Horace Sutton
c. : to pour down or in with beneficient effect — used with on or upon
then fame and royalties descended upon him — E.A.Weeks
6. : to proceed in a sequence or gradation from higher to lower or from more remote to nearer or more recent
this list is arranged in descending order of the reliability of the information — R.N.Denney
we shall expect to find the curves of art and spiritual fervor ascending and descending together — Clive Bell
7.
a. : to sink in status or dignity : demean or degrade oneself by indulgence in pettiness or unworthy behavior : stoop
ashamed of myself for having descended to a kind of wheedling — Kenneth Roberts
his successor, after failing to dominate, descended to reckless abuse — Raymond Moley
b. : to worsen and sink in condition or estimation : become degraded : degenerate
the family descended from comparative prosperity to poverty
her autobiography descends to a dragging pedestrianism
his attacks descend to a level almost indistinguishable from personal character assassination — Martin Gardner
c. : to pass from higher to lower musical notes or tones
transitive verb
1. obsolete : to cause to descend : bring down
power to raise some and descend others
2.
a. : to pass, move, or climb down or down along
descended the steps with senile deliberation — Arnold Bennett
b. : to journey downstream along (a stream) or toward the foot of (a lake)
3. : to extend down along
a raw scar descends the side of the mountain showing the course of a slide
vertical tucks descending the bodice — Lois Long
Synonyms:
dismount , alight : these have in common a sense of getting or coming down from a height. One descends when one goes or climbs down a slope or incline, as of a mountain, hill, ladder, stair, tree, and so on. One dismounts by getting off (the back of a horse or other ridable animal, a bicycle, motorcycle, or similar vehicle). One alights when one dismounts with a certain springing lightness or grace or when one gets down from a carriage, gets out of a car or off a plane.