-ˈklivəd.ē, -ətē, -i noun
( -es )
Etymology: Latin declivitat-, declivitas, from declivis sloping down (from de down, away + -clivis, from clivus slope, hill) + -tat-, -tas -ty; akin to Latin clinare to incline — more at de- , lean
1. : downward deviation from the horizontal : slope or gradient of a surface : inclination
streams of water in the larger valleys of gentler declivity — C.A.Cotton
— opposed to acclivity
2. : a descending slope (as of a hill) : a steep or overhanging slope (as of a cliff)
a large village situated just on the declivity of the farther side of the hill — George Borrow