descent

descent
de|scent [dıˈsent] n
1.) [U and C] formal
the process of going down
≠ ↑ascent
▪ Passengers must fasten their seat belts prior to descent.
descent from/to
▪ The descent to Base Camp took about two days.
2.) [U]
your family origins, especially your nationality or relationship to someone important who lived a long time ago
of Russian/Italian etc descent
▪ young men and women of Asian descent
descent from
▪ The emperor claimed descent from David.
by descent
▪ They're Irish by descent.
3.)
a path or road that goes down a slope
≠ ↑ascent descent from/to
▪ There is no direct descent from the summit.
4.) [singular]
a gradual change towards behaviour or a situation that is very bad
descent into alcoholism/chaos/madness etc
▪ the story of his descent into drug abuse
5.) [singular] BrE
a sudden unwanted visit or attack
▪ the descent on the town by a motorcycle gang

Dictionary of contemporary English. 2013.

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Look at other dictionaries:

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  • descent — de·scent n: transmission or devolution of the estate of a person who has died without a valid will compare distribution Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996. descent …   Law dictionary

  • Descent — steht für: den Originaltitel des Films Feuerhölle Descent (2007), einen US amerikanische Thriller von Talia Lugacy Descent (Computerspiel), ein Computerspiel Descent: Die Reise ins Dunkel, ein Brettspiel Siehe auch: The Descent – Abgrund des… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Descent — 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. [1913 Webster] 2. Incursion; sudden attack; especially, hostile invasion from …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • descent — [n1] moving down; lowering cave in, coast, coming down, crash, declension, declination, decline, declivity, dip, downgrade, droop, drop, drop off, fall, falling, grade, gradient, header, hill, inclination, incline, landslide, plummeting, plunge,… …   New thesaurus

  • descent — descent, descent theory See kinship …   Dictionary of sociology

  • descent — c.1300, from O.Fr. descente descent, descendance, lineage, formed from descendre (see DESCEND (Cf. descend)) on analogy of French nouns like attente from attendre to expect, vente sale from vendre to sell, pente slope from pendre …   Etymology dictionary

  • descent — ► NOUN 1) an act or the action of descending. 2) a downward slope. 3) a person s origin or nationality. 4) (descent on) a sudden violent attack on …   English terms dictionary

  • descent — [dē sent′, disent′] n. [ME descent < OFr descente < descendre: see DESCEND] 1. a descending; coming down or going down 2. lineage; ancestry 3. one generation (in a specified lineage) 4. a downward slope 5. a way down or downward …   English World dictionary

  • Descent II — This article is about the video game. For the British 2009 horror movie, see The Descent 2. For the episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, see Descent (Star Trek: The Next Generation)#Part II. Descent II Developer(s) …   Wikipedia

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