descendant
English
Etymology
From Middle English dessendaunte, borrowed from Middle French, from Latin dēscendēns, present participle of descendere, from dē + scandere (“to climb, ascend”).
Pronunciation
Adjective
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
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
Antonyms
Related terms
Translations
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Noun
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
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
- (offspring): afterbear, offspring, scion, and see Thesaurus:child & relative
Antonyms
Derived terms
Translations
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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
French
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin dēscendentem, the present participle of dēscendere, itself from dē + scandere (“climb, ascend”).
Pronunciation
Participle
descendant
Noun
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
Adjective
descendant (feminine descendante, masculine plural descendants, feminine plural descendantes)
- (which is) descending
Derived terms
Related terms
Further reading
- “descendant”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Latin
Verb
dēscendant
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English uncomparable adjectives
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Biology
- en:Linguistics
- en:Astrology
- en:Family members
- French terms borrowed from Latin
- French terms derived from Latin
- French 3-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French terms with audio links
- French non-lemma forms
- French present participles
- French gerunds
- French lemmas
- French nouns
- French countable nouns
- French masculine nouns
- French adjectives
- Latin non-lemma forms
- Latin verb forms