Main Entry: de·scent

Pronunciation: \di-ˈsent\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French descente, from Anglo-French descendre

Date: 14th century

1 a : derivation from an ancestor : birth, lineage <of French descent> b : transmission or devolution of an estate by inheritance usually in the descending line c : the fact or process of originating from an ancestral stock d : the shaping or development in nature and character by transmission from a source : derivation
2 : the act or process of descending
3 : a step downward in a scale of gradation; specifically : one generation in an ancestral line or genealogical scale
4 a : an inclination downward : slope b : a descending way (as a downgrade or stairway) c obsolete : the lowest part
5 a : attack, invasion b : a sudden disconcerting appearance (as for a visit)
6 : a downward step (as in station or value) : decline <descent of the family to actual poverty>