Dictionary:

descent

  (dĭ-sĕnt')

1. The act or an instance of descending.
2. A way down.
3. A downward incline or passage; a slope.
4. 1. Hereditary derivation; lineage: a person of African descent.
   2. One generation of a specific lineage.
5. 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.
6. Law. Transference of property by inheritance.
7. A lowering or decline, as in status or level: Her career went into a rapid descent after the charges of misconduct.
8. A sudden visit or attack; an onslaught.

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

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

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.

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.

Definition: deterioration
Antonyms: improvement, upgrade

n

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

For more information on descent, visit Britannica.com.

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.

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.

Descent may refer to:

In film:

• The Descent, a horror film
• The Descent 2, the upcoming sequel to the Neil Marshall film, The Descent
• Descent, a thriller film starring Rosario Dawson
• Descent, a television film on the Sci-Fi Channel

In gaming:

• Descent (computer game), the first game in a series of a 3D first-person shooter computer games developed by Parallax Software and Outrage Entertainment, best known for introducing 6DOF movement.

• Descent II, originally planned as an expansion but ending up becoming the sequel to Descent. It retained the same game engine but benefited from enhancements with the use of true 3D rendering technology.
• Descent³, the sequel to Descent II which featured a new game engine with graphical techniques like portal rendering, procedural texturing and advanced lighting. It was the final game in the series.
• Descent: FreeSpace, a computer game series developed by Volition Inc, one of the succeeding developers after Parallax split up. "Descent" was used mainly for naming purposes as "FreeSpace" was trademarked, and despite the initial planned storyline crossover, has nothing to do with the Descent 6DOF series.

• Descent: Journeys in the Dark, a board game released by Fantasy Flight Games in 2005

In literature:

• The Descent (novel), a novel by author Jeff Long

In science:

• Common descent, concept in evolutionary biology
• Kinship and descent, one of the major concepts of cultural anthropology

In television:

• "Descent" (The Outer Limits), the name of an episode of the science fiction TV seriesThe Outer Limits
• "Descent" (Stargate SG-1), an episode of the science fiction television series Stargate SG-1
• "Descent" (TNG episode), a two-part episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation

In other fields:

• Descent (aircraft), the decrease of an aircraft in altitude during flight
• Descent (category theory), a very general idea in mathematics, extending the intuitive idea of 'gluing' in topology
• Descent (font), the distance that a typeface descends below the baseline in typography

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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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