descend
/dəˈsɛnd/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.51 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "they descended the river in boats"
- "to descend a ladder"
- "The noble prince descended to one knee to ask for the princess’s hand in marriage."
- "[T]hey both deſcend the Hill; […]"
- "[I]f, after deſcending a flight of ſtairs, vve attempt inadvertently to take another ſtep in the manner of the former ones, the ſhock is extreamly rude and diſagreeable; and by no art, can vve cauſe ſuch a ſhock by the ſame means, vvhen vve expect and prepare for it."
- "But never tear his cheek descended, / And never smile his brow unbended; […]"
Etymology
The verb is derived from Middle English descenden (“to move downwards, fall, descend; to slope downwards; to go from a better to a worse condition, decline, degenerate; to be a descendant, derive from (a source); etc.”), from Anglo-Norman descendere, descendre, and Old French descendere, descendre (“to move downwards, fall, descend; to slope downwards; to be a descendant, derive from (a source); etc.”) (modern French descendre), and from their etymon Latin dēscendere, the present active infinitive of dēscendō (“to come or go down, fall, descend; to slope downwards; to be a descendant; etc.”), from de- (prefix meaning ‘from; down from’) + scandō (“to ascend, climb; to clamber”) (from Proto-Indo-European *skend- (“to climb, scale; to dart; to jump”)). The noun is derived from the verb.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *skend-, descenden, descendere, dēscendere
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /dəˈsɛnd/
- British English: /dɪˈsɛnd/
Usage
Inflected Forms
descends (present, singular)
descending (participle, present)
descended (participle, past)
descended (past)
no-table-tags (table tags)
glossary (inflection template)
descended (first person, past)
descendest (archaic, present)
descended (past, second person)
descendedst (archaic, past)
descendeth (archaic, present)
descended (past, singular)