descent definition - Dictionaries

Dictionary

descent [ di sént ] (plural descents)

noun

Definition:

1. going down: an act of going from the top to the bottom or from a higher position to a lower position

2. way down: a path or other way down something such as a mountain

3. decline: a decline or change from something better to something worse

4. sudden arrival: the sudden arrival of a person or group of people

5. ancestral background: the connection somebody has to an ancestor or group of ancestors

6. inherited development: characteristics or developments that can be traced to an earlier source

7. one generation: a step of one generation in a lineage

8. law inheritance: the transmission of property by inheritance

[13th century. < French descente< descendre (see descend)]

Spelling Note


	descent or dissent? Do not confuse the spelling of descent and dissent, which sound similar. The word descent is only used as a noun, meaning 'the act of descending', 'a way down', 'ancestral background', 'a decline', etc., as in a steep descent, people of Spanish descent. The word dissent can be a noun or a verb, referring to disagreement or nonconformity, as in dissent from official party policy, to dissent from orthodox religious doctrine.