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n. 1. The act or an instance of descending: the slow descent of the scuba divers. 2. a. A way down: fashioned a descent with an ice axe. b. A downward incline or passage; a slope: watched the stones roll down the descent. 3. Hereditary derivation; lineage: a person of African descent. 4. The fact or process of being derived or developing from a source: a paper tracing the descent of the novel from old picaresque tales. 5. Law Transmission of property, especially real estate, to a hereditary heir by an intestate owner. 6. A lowering or decline, as in status or level: Her career went into a rapid descent after the charges of misconduct. 7. A sudden visit or attack; an onslaught: the descent of the marauders on the settlement. [Middle English, from Old French descente, from descendre, to descend (on the model of rente, rent and rendre, to render); see DESCEND.] |
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