descent

UK: /dɪˈsɛnt/ US: /dɪˈsɛnt/ ,(di sent′)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

de•scent /dɪˈsɛnt/   n. 

1. the act, process, or fact of descending:
   [countable] The spectators watched the descent of the balloon.
2. a downward inclination or slope:
   [countable] a gradual descent to the lake.
3. ancestry;
   the line tracing births to an ancestor:
   [uncountable] He traces his descent to a small village in Thrace.

See -scend-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

de•scent  (di sent′), n. 

1. the act, process, or fact of descending.
2. a downward inclination or slope.
3. a passage or stairway leading down.
4. derivation from an ancestor;
   lineage;
   extraction.
5. any passing from higher to lower in degree or state;
   decline.
6. a sudden raid or hostile attack.
7. Law transmission of real property by intestate succession.

• Anglo-French, Old French descente, derivative of descendre to descend, modeled on such pairs as vente, vendre
• Middle English 1300–50

Synonyms

• 1. falling, sinking.
• 2. decline, grade, declivity.
• 4. ancestry, parentage.
• 6. assault, foray.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

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 followed by on) a sudden and overwhelming arrival or attack
9. (formerly) the transmission of real property to the heir on an intestacy