descent English · revision 14938

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1300|origins=la dēscendō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /dɪˈsent/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fro|descente|t=descent, lineage]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) formed from [[m|fro|descendre|t=to come down]] (see [[descend]]) on the pattern of nouns such as [[m|fro|vente|t=sale]] from [[m|fro|vendre|t=to sell]].^(Etymonline) A form taken directly from Latin would have been descence.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Lineage, derivation from an ancestor: about 1300.^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The act of coming down is from the late 14th century in Etymonline, 1590 in the OED,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and figuratively from about 1374.^(OED 1989) A downward slope is from 1591,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) and a flight of steps from 1634.^(OED 1989) A sudden invasion or attack is from about 1600.^(Etymonline) The biological sense, evolutionary descent, is from 1859, in Darwin, though similar uses go back to the 1630s.^(Etymonline) The Descent of Christ into hell is from 1883.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – lineage.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1374 – a figurative descent.^(OED 1989)

+ * late 14th century – the act of descending.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1591 – a downward slope.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1600 – a sudden attack.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1859 – descent (biology).^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The act of descending.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A downward slope, or a way down.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Ancestry; [[lineage]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A generation in a lineage.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A decline or degeneration.^(Collins 2023)

+ # A sudden overwhelming arrival or attack, often with ''on''.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[redescent]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[descend]]

+ * [[descendant]]

+ * [[ascent]]

+ * [[condescend]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}