De*scend" (?), v. t. To go down upon or along; to pass from a higher to a lower part of; as, they descended the river in boats; to descend a ladder.
But never tears his cheek descended.
Byron.
De*scend"ant (?), a. [F. descendant, p. pr. of descendre. Cf. Descendent.] Descendent.
De*scend"ant, n. One who descends, as offspring, however remotely; -- correlative to ancestor or ascendant.
Our first parents and their descendants.
Hale.
The descendant of so many kings and emperors.
Burke.
De*scend"ent (?), a. [L. descendens, -entis, p. pr. of descendre. Cf. Descendant.] Descending; falling; proceeding from an ancestor or source.
More than mortal grace
Speaks thee descendent of ethereal race.
Pope.
De*scend"er (?), n. One who descends.
De*scend`i*bil"i*ty (?), n. The quality of being descendible; capability of being transmitted from ancestors; as, the descendibility of an estate.
De*scend"i*ble (?), a. 1. Admitting descent; capable of being descended.
2. That may descend from an ancestor to an heir. "A descendant estate." Sir W. Jones.
De*scend"ing, a. Of or pertaining to descent; moving downwards.
Descending constellations or signs (Astron.), those through which the planets descent toward the south. -- Descending node (Astron.), that point in a planet's orbit where it intersects the ecliptic in passing southward. -- Descending series (Math.), a series in which each term is numerically smaller than the preceding one; also, a series arranged according to descending powers of a quantity.
De*scend"ing*ly, adv. In a descending manner.
De*scen"sion (?), n. [OF. descension, L. descensio. See Descent.] The act of going downward; descent; falling or sinking; declension; degradation.
Oblique descension (Astron.), the degree or arc of the equator which descends, with a celestial object, below the horizon of an oblique sphere. -- Right descension, the degree or arc of the equator which descends below the horizon of a right sphere at the same time with the object. [Obs.]
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De*scen"sion*al (?), a. Pertaining to descension. Johnson.
De*scen"sive (?), a. Tending to descend; tending downwards; descending. Smart.
De*scen"so*ry (?), n. [NL. descensorium: cf. OF. descensoire. See Descend.] A vessel used in alchemy to extract oils.
De*scent" (?), n. [F. descente, fr. descendre; like vente, from vendre. See Descend.] 1. The act of descending, or passing downward; change of place from higher to lower.
2. Incursion; sudden attack; especially, hostile invasion from sea; -- often followed by upon or on; as, to make a descent upon the enemy.
The United Provinces . . . ordered public prayer to God, when they feared that the French and English fleets would make a descent upon their coasts.
Jortin.
3. Progress downward, as in station, virtue, as in station, virtue, and the like, from a higher to a lower state, from a higher to a lower state, from the more to the less important, from the better to the worse, etc.
2. Derivation, as from an ancestor; procedure by generation; lineage; birth; extraction. Dryden.
5. (Law) Transmission of an estate by inheritance, usually, but not necessarily, in the descending line; title to inherit an estate by reason of consanguinity. Abbott.
6. Inclination downward; a descending way; inclined or sloping surface; declivity; slope; as, a steep descent.