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descent

[dih-sent] 
 
noun
1.
the act, process, or fact of moving from a higher to a lower position.
Synonyms: falling, sinking; fall, drop.
2.
a downward inclination or slope.
Synonyms: decline, grade, declivity; slant.
3.
a passage or stairway leading down.
4.
derivation from an ancestor; lineage; extraction.
Synonyms: ancestry, parentage, origin.
5.
any passing from higher to lower in degree or state; decline.
Synonyms: decrease, drop, plunge, decline, lessening, contraction,downturn.
6.
a sudden raid or hostile attack.
Synonyms: assault, foray; raid, incursion, sneak attack.
7.
Law. transmission of real property by intestate succession.
Origin of descent
Middle English
Old French
1300-1350
1300-50; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French descente, derivative ofdescendre to descend, modeled on such pairs as vente, vendre
Related forms
predescent, noun
redescent, noun
Can be confused
decent, descent, dissent.
Word story
Descent has been in the English language since the 14th century. TheFrench word from which it descends, descendre, ultimately comes from aLatin term whose literal meaning is “to climb” (scandre) “down” (de-). 
Though the word descent has been around for over half a millennium, someof its early senses are still in use. In the 1330s one use of descentdescribed familial ancestry. Darwin popularized and expanded this term inVictorian England with his study of the origins of humans and our simianrelatives from a common ancestor. This sense is very familiar to speakersof current English who have studied natural history. We also often heardescent in the context of ancestry such as “African descent” or“Scandinavian descent.” Another early use describes an object moving froma higher position to a lower position. Today, we still use this sense whentalking about the downward movement of an airplane as it prepares to land.In religious contexts, one might hear about the Descent of Christ into Hell, asense first appropriated in the 19th century. 
Be careful not to confuse descent with decent. While it’s easy to leave outjust one “s,” people are sure to express dissent (another word not to beconfused with descent) with your diction.
Popular references
—Descent from the Cross: A biblical scene popularly depicted in art, ofJoseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus removing Christ from the cross afterbeing crucified.
— The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex: Charles Darwin'sbook on evolutionary theory, first published in 1871.
—“The Descent”: A brief lyric poem by William Carlos Williams, firstpublished in 1948.
— The Descent: A science-fiction novel by Jeff Long, published in 1999.
— The Descent: A British horror film, released in 2005 (with no relation tothe novel of the same name).
Related Quotations
“I lay awake awhile, watching the ascent of the sparks through the firs, andsometimes their descent in half-extinguished cinders on my blanket.“ 
—Henry David Thoreau, The Maine Woods (1864)
“Under our feet there opened a horrible well. My uncle was so delighted thathe actually clapped his hands—as he saw how steep and sharp was thedescent.“ 
—Jules Verne, Journey to the Center of the Earth (1872)
“His guilt and his descent appear, by your account, to be the same…for Ihave heard you accuse him of nothing worse than of being the son of Mr.Darcy’s steward.“ 
—Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice (1813)
“Everywhere we look we see brutality, stupidity, until it seems that there isnothing else to be seen but that—a descent into barbarism, everywhere,which we are unable to check.“ 
—Doris May Lessing, Prisons We Choose to Live Inside (1986)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2015.
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Examples from the Web for descent
Contemporary Examples
Historical Examples
  • The descent was continued, seeming to Saxe almost interminable.
    The Crystal Hunters George Manville Fenn 
  • To make up for his indiscretion, K. suggested a descent to the river.
    K Mary Roberts Rinehart 
  • At the bottom of the descent before them was a lodge, to which they now descended.
    The Hand of Ethelberta Thomas Hardy 
  • Our journey must now be compared to the descent from cloud-land in a balloon.
    The Roof of France Matilda Betham-Edwards 
  • Although a Roman by descent, I advocate not Roman intolerance.
    Zenobia William Ware 
British Dictionary definitions for descent

descent

/dɪˈsɛnt/
noun
1.
the act of descending
2.
a downward slope or inclination
3.
a passage, path, or way leading downwards
4.
derivation from an ancestor or ancestral group; lineage
5.
(in genealogy) a generation in a particular lineage
6.
a decline or degeneration
7.
a movement or passage in degree or state from higher to lower
8.
(often foll by on) a sudden and overwhelming arrival or attack
9.
(property law) (formerly) the transmission of real property to the heir on an intestacy
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word Origin and History for descent
n.
c.1300, from Old French descente "descent, descendance, lineage," formed from descendre (see descend) on analogy of French nouns such as attentefrom attendre "to expect," vente "sale" from vendre "to sell," pente "slope" from pendre "to hang" (the etymological English word from Latin would be*descence). 

Figurative use is from late 14c. Meaning "action of descending," also "a downward slope" is from 1590s. Meaning "act of descending from an ancestor" is from mid-14c. Evolutionary sense is from 1859 in Darwin, though there are uses which suggest essentially the same thing going back to 1630s.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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descent in Medicine
descent de·scent (dĭ-sěnt')
n.
  1. The process of descending or falling down from a higher position.
  2. The passage of the presenting part of the fetus into and through the birth canal.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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