DESCENT

noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French ~e, from Anglo-French descendre Date: 14th century 1. derivation from an ancestor ; birth , lineage , transmission or devolution of an estate by inheritance usually in the descending line, the fact or process of originating from an ancestral stock, the shaping or development in nature and character by transmission from a source ; derivation , the act or process of descending, a step downward in a scale of gradation, 4. an inclination downward ; slope , a descending way (as a downgrade or stairway), the lowest part, 5. attack , invasion , a sudden disconcerting appearance (as for a visit), a downward step (as in station or value) ; decline