Princeton's WordNet(3.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. descend, fall, go down, come down(verb)

   move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way

   "The temperature is going down"; "The barometer is falling"; "The curtain fell on the diva"; "Her hand went up and then fell again"

2. derive, come, descend(verb)

   come from; be connected by a relationship of blood, for example

   "She was descended from an old Italian noble family"; "he comes from humble origins"

3. condescend, deign, descend(verb)

   do something that one considers to be below one's dignity

4. fall, descend, settle(verb)

   come as if by falling

   "Night fell"; "Silence fell"

Wiktionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. descend(Verb)

   To pass from a higher to a lower place; to move downwards; to come or go down in any way, as by falling, flowing, walking, etc.; to plunge; to fall; to incline downward

2. descend(Verb)

   To enter mentally; to retire. [Poetic]

   [He] with holiest meditations fed, Into himself descended. John Milton.

3. descend(Verb)

   To make an attack, or incursion, as if from a vantage ground; to come suddenly and with violence; -- with on or upon.

   And on the suitors let thy wrath descend. Alexander Pope.

4. descend(Verb)

   To come down to a lower, less fortunate, humbler, less virtuous, or worse, state or station; to lower or abase one's self; as, he descended from his high estate.

5. descend(Verb)

   To pass from the more general or important to the particular or less important matters to be considered.

6. descend(Verb)

   To come down, as from a source, original, or stock; to be derived; to proceed by generation or by transmission; to fall or pass by inheritance; as, the beggar may descend from a prince; a crown descends to the heir.

7. descend(Verb)

   To move toward the south, or to the southward.

8. descend(Verb)

   To fall in pitch; to pass from a higher to a lower tone.

9. descend(Verb)

   To go down upon or along; to pass from a higher to a lower part of; as, they descended the river in boats; to descend a ladder.

   But never tears his cheek descended. Byron.

Origin: From decenden, from descendre, from descendere, past participle descensus, from de- + scandere. See scan, scandent. Compare ascend, condescend, transcend.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Descend(verb)

   to pass from a higher to a lower place; to move downwards; to come or go down in any way, as by falling, flowing, walking, etc.; to plunge; to fall; to incline downward; -- the opposite of ascend

2. Descend(verb)

   to enter mentally; to retire

3. Descend(verb)

   to make an attack, or incursion, as if from a vantage ground; to come suddenly and with violence; -- with on or upon

4. Descend(verb)

   to come down to a lower, less fortunate, humbler, less virtuous, or worse, state or station; to lower or abase one's self; as, he descended from his high estate

5. Descend(verb)

   to pass from the more general or important to the particular or less important matters to be considered

6. Descend(verb)

   to come down, as from a source, original, or stock; to be derived; to proceed by generation or by transmission; to fall or pass by inheritance; as, the beggar may descend from a prince; a crown descends to the heir

7. Descend(verb)

   to move toward the south, or to the southward

8. Descend(verb)

   to fall in pitch; to pass from a higher to a lower tone

9. Descend(verb)

   to go down upon or along; to pass from a higher to a lower part of; as, they descended the river in boats; to descend a ladder

Origin: [F. descendre, L. descendere, descensum; de- + scandere to climb. See Scan.]

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Descend

   dē-send′, v.i. to climb down: to pass from a higher to a lower place or condition: to pass from general to particulars: to fall upon or invade: to be derived.—v.t. to go down upon: to go to the bottom of.—n. Descend′ant, one who descends, as offspring from an ancestor.—adjs. Descend′ent, descending or going down: proceeding from an ancestor; Descend′ible, that may descend or be descended: capable of transmission by inheritance, heritable.—p.adj. Descend′ing.—n. Descen′sion.—adj. Descen′sional.—n. Descent′, act of descending: transmission by succession: motion or progress downward: slope: a falling upon or invasion: derivation from an ancestor: a generation, a degree in genealogy: descendants collectively.—Descent from the cross, a picture representing Christ being taken down from the cross. [Fr. descendre—L. descendĕre—de, down, scandĕre, to climb.]

Suggested Resources(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. descend

   The descend symbol -- In this Symbols.com article you will learn about the meaning of the descend symbol and its characteristic.

British National Corpus

1. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'descend' in Verbs Frequency: #789

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of descend in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of descend in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Sample Sentences & Example Usage

1. Kahlil Gibran:

   No lower can a man descend than to interpret his dreams into gold and silver.

2. Omar Khayyam, The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam:

   Ah, make the most of what we yet may spend, before we too into the dust descend.

3. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew:

   I just do not believe that we can let three and a half million Americans descend into chaos.

4. George Osgood:

   If you descend [with a regular leg], your calf breaks in, but with a mechanical leg, it resists.

5. Mehmet Murat ildan:

   Climb the ladder only if it takes you to somewhere high! Some ascents may descend you to low places!

Images & Illustrations of descend

Popularity rank by frequency of use