descendant
English edit
Etymology edit
From Middle English dessendaunte, borrowed from Middle French, from Latin dēscendēns, present participle of descendere, from dē + scandere (“to climb, ascend”).
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
descendant (not comparable)
- Descending; going down.
- The elevator resumed its descendant trajectory.
- 1830, Thomas Robson (engraver.), The British herald, or Cabinet of armorial bearings of the nobility & gentry of Great Britain & Ireland, page 14:
- Eagle descendant, or descending. See DESCENDANT, and Pl. 22, fig. 6. Eagle descendant, displayed. See Pl. 22, fig. 7. Eagle displayed, recursant. See DISPLAYED RECURSANT, and Pl. 22, […]
- 1984, Charles A. Ravenstein, Air Force combat wings: lineage and honors histories 1947-1977, DIANE Publishing, →ISBN, page 259:
- Azure, surmounting a cloud argent, an American eagle descendant, wings endorsed proper, between his beak four lightning streaks, […]
- Descending from a biological ancestor.
- Power in the kingdom is transferred in a descendant manner.
- Proceeding from a figurative ancestor or source.
Usage notes edit
The adjective may be spelled either with ant or ent as the final syllable (see descendent). The noun may be spelled only with ant.
Alternative forms edit
Antonyms edit
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Noun edit
descendant (plural descendants)
- One of the progeny of a specified person, at any distance of time or through any number of generations.
- The patriarch survived many descendants: five children, a dozen grandchildren, even a great grandchild.
- (figuratively) A thing that derives directly from a given precursor or source.
- This famous medieval manuscript has many descendants.
- (biology) A later evolutionary type.
- Dogs evolved as descendants of early wolves.
- (linguistics) A language that is descended from another.
- English and Scots are the descendants of Old English.
- (linguistics) A word or form in one language that is descended from a counterpart in an ancestor language.
- Synonyms: reflex, derivative
- Antonym: etymon
- Coordinate term: cognate
- (astrology) The intersection of the western (setting) horizon and the ecliptic, its ecliptical longitude; the astrological sign it corresponds to.
Usage notes edit
The adjective may be spelled either with ant or ent as the final syllable (see descendent). The noun may be spelled only with ant.
Synonyms edit
- (offspring): afterbear, offspring, scion, and see Thesaurus:child & relative
Antonyms edit
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
See also edit
French edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Latin dēscendentem, the present participle of dēscendere, itself from dē + scandere (“climb, ascend”).
Pronunciation edit
Participle edit
descendant
Noun edit
descendant m (plural descendants, feminine descendante)
- a descendant; one who is the progeny of someone at any distance of time; e.g. a child; a grandchild, etc.
Antonyms edit
Adjective edit
descendant (feminine descendante, masculine plural descendants, feminine plural descendantes)
- (which is) descending
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Further reading edit
- “descendant”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Latin edit
Verb edit
dēscendant