descent

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(dĭ-sĕnt') pronunciation
n.
  1. The act or an instance of descending.
  2. A way down.
  3. A downward incline or passage; a slope.
    1. Hereditary derivation; lineage: a person of African descent.
    2. One generation of a specific lineage.
    1. The fact or process of coming down or being derived from a source: a paper tracing the descent of the novel from old picaresque tales.
    2. Development in form or structure during transmission from an original source.
  4. Law. Transference of property by inheritance.
  5. A lowering or decline, as in status or level: Her career went into a rapid descent after the charges of misconduct.
  6. A sudden visit or attack; an onslaught.

[Middle English, from Old French, descent, from feminine past participle of descendre, to descend. See descend.]



System of acknowledged social parentage whereby a person may claim kinship ties with another. Descent systems vary widely. The practical importance of descent comes from its use as a means for individuals to assert rights, duties, privileges, or status. Descent has special influence when rights to succession, inheritance, or residence follow kinship lines. One method of limiting the recognition of kinship is to emphasize the relationship through one parent only. Such unilineal kinship systems are of two main typespatrilineal systems, in which the relationships through the father are emphasized; and matrilineal systems, in which maternal relationships are stressed. These systems differ radically from cognatic systems, in which everyone has similar obligations to, and expectations from, both paternal and maternal kin. The cognatic system is somewhat vague and tends to characterize the more industrialized countries, in which individual rights and duties are increasingly defined institutionally or legally.

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Method of acquiring property, usually real property, through the laws of descent and distribution from a decedent without the use of a will.

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The acquisition of property by an heir when the deceased leaves no will.


Example: Abel dies without having prepared a will. His wife and son are awarded title to Abel’s estate by the courts. They are said to acquire title by descent.

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noun

  1. The act of dropping from a height: drop, fall. See rise/fall.
  2. A downward slope or distance: decline, declivity, drop, fall, pitch. See rise/fall.
  3. One's ancestors or their character or one's ancestral derivation: ancestry, birth, blood, bloodline, extraction, family, genealogy, line, lineage, origin, parentage, pedigree, seed, stock. See kin, precede/follow.
  4. A sudden drop to a lower condition or status: comedown, down, downfall, downgrade. See rise/fall.
  5. A usually swift downward trend, as in prices: decline, dip, dive, downslide, downswing, downtrend, downturn, drop, drop-off, fall, nosedive, plunge, skid, slide, slump, tumble. See increase/decrease.


n

Definition: deterioration
Antonyms: improvement, upgrade

n

Definition: moving down; lowering
Antonyms: ascension, ascent, elevation, increase, rise, upgrade

descent, in anthropology, method of classifying individuals in terms of their various kinship connections. Matrilineal and patrilineal descent refer to the mother's or father's sib (or other group), respectively. Bilateral descent refers to descent derived from both sibs equally. Descent groups are of basic significance in the social structure of most nonindustrial societies. They constitute a series of social groups that dominate the domestic organization and the process of socialization, the use and transfer of property, the settlement of disputes, religious activities such as ancestor worship, and certain political relationships. Some lineage systems extend to the limits of the society itself. The Tiv of E Nigeria, for example, all consider themselves descendants in the male line of an eponymous ancestor, and the genealogy of this progeny defines the complete outline of descent group structure.


This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

Hereditary succession. Succession to the ownership of an estate by inheritance, or by any act of law, as distinguished from purchase. Title by descent is the title by which one person, upon the death of another, acquires the real estate of the latter as an heir at law. The title by inheritance is in all cases called descent, although by statute law the title is sometimes made to ascend. The division among those legally entitled thereto of the real property of intestates.

Word Tutor:

descent

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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: The act of moving or going downward.

pronunciation The racer's decent down the ski slope was marred by a bad fall.

Tutor's tip: A "decent" (respectable, honest) person with a "descent" (lineage or ancestry) from a good family will "dissent" (disagree) from mob rule, for fear the situation will "descend" (to move to a lower place) into chaos.

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A dream of descending an elevator, or by any other means-may indicate a decline in energy or status. Alternatively, it may symbolize descent into the unconscious in a journey of self-discovery.


Random House Word Menu:

categories related to 'descent'

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Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
For a list of words related to descent, see:

Descent may refer to:

In genealogy and inheritance:

In mathematics:

Other uses:

  • Descent (aircraft), the decrease of an aircraft in altitude during flight
  • Descent (font), the distance that a typeface descends below the baseline in typography

As a proper name

In film:

In gaming:

In literature:

  • The Descent (novel), by Jeff Long
  • Descent, caving magazine from Wild Places Publishing first published in 1969

In music:

In television:

See also


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Dansk (Danish)
n. - nedstigning, vej ned, skråning ned, afstamning, arv, tilbagegang, pludseligt angreb

Nederlands (Dutch)
val, helling, afdaling, vernedering, afkomst, aanval, overerving

Français (French)
n. - descente dans, (fig) chute dans, (Aviat, Sport) descente, pente, origine, famille, transmission (par héritage), (Mil) irruption, descente

Deutsch (German)
n. - Abstieg, Abfall, Einfall, Herkunft

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - κάθοδος, κατάβαση, κατηφοριά, κατωφέρεια, καταγωγή, φύτρα, ξαφνική επίθεση, επιδρομή (κν. γιουρούσι), (νομ.) κληρονομική μεταβίβαση

Italiano (Italian)
origine, discendenza, stirpe

Português (Portuguese)
n. - origem (f), declínio (m), descida (f)

Русский (Russian)
спуск

Español (Spanish)
n. - descenso, bajada, declive, descendencia, ascendencia

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - nedstigande, sluttning, härstamning

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
降落, 侵袭, 家系

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 降落, 侵襲, 家系

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 하락, 습격, 임시 검문

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 降下, 下り坂, 下落, 転落, 家系, 遺伝, 急襲
v. - 香気を除く, 香腺を除去する

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) هبوط, نزول, انحدار, سلاله‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮ירידה, הידרדרות, התנפלות, שושלת, מוצא, הורשה‬


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