I. adjective
also de·scend·ent -dənt
Etymology: Middle French & Latin; Middle French descendant, from Latin descendent-, descendens, present participle of descendere
1. : descending 1
2. : proceeding from an ancestor or source
eighth in the descendant line from the original immigrant
II. noun
also descendent “
( -s )
Etymology: French & Latin; descendant, from Latin descendent-, descendens, from descendent-, descendens, present participle
1.
a. : one that is descended from another or from a common stock
the descendants of King David
the several cultivated descendants of the native persimmon
— distinguished from ancestor, ascendant
b. : a lineal or collateral blood relative usually of a later generation — compare issue
2. : something that derives its character directly from a precursor or prototype
the vertebral column is the altered descendant of the notochord
especially : an offshoot from an antecedent practice or idea
the modern signet ring is a descendant of the scarab ring — Elizabeth W. King
the maypole dance is said to be a descendant of an ancient fertility dance
3. : a follower or disciple who shows close adherence to the principles and methods of an earlier master in some literary, learned, or artistic specialty
though not all the descendants of Kant agree — J.G.Gray
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- in the descendant