descendn.
/dᵻˈsɛnd/, U.S. /dəˈsɛnd/, /diˈsɛnd/ A descent (in various senses); a downward slope.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > inclination > [noun] > inclination from the level or slope > downwards > a downward slope (except of hills, etc.)
descend1519
hanging1684
declivity1695
hang1850
downslope1855
1519 Presentments of Juries in Surtees Misc. (1890) 31 All wattersewers and the dyssendis þer off..be dykid.
1607 G. Markham Cavelarice v. v. 33 It shall be good if in your iourney you come to the descend of anye great Hil, to light from your Horses backe.
1873 Rep. Geol. Surv. Ohio I. i. ii. 38 West of the Geauga plateau the descend is rapid into the valley of the Cuyahoga.
1915 C. Elschner Leeward Islands of Hawaiian Group 59 Towards the east the reef precipitates steeply.., while in the western direction the descend is less pronounced.
2007 K. Bade & A. Nürnberger in R. Decker & H.-J. Lenz Adv. in Data Anal. 129 If the following criteria holds, the descend is stopped.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
descendv.
/dᵻˈsɛnd/, U.S. /dəˈsɛnd/, /diˈsɛnd/α. Middle English decende, Middle English descend (past participle), Middle English desscend, Middle English dessende, Middle English dessende, Middle English–1500s decend, Middle English–1600s descende, Middle English– descend, 1500s descent (past participle), 1500s–1600s desend; Scottish pre-1700 deschend, pre-1700 desend, pre-1700 deshend, pre-1700 1700s– descend.
β. Middle English (in a late copy) discent (past participle), Middle English disend, Middle English dyscende, Middle English dyssente, Middle English–1500s discende, Middle English–1500s dyscend, Middle English–1600s discend, 1500s dissend, 1500s dyssend, 1600s discent; Scottish pre-1700 discand, pre-1700 discend, pre-1700 discend (past participle), pre-1700 discent (past participle), pre-1700 disend.
I. To come down by inheritance or ancestry.
1.
a. intransitive. Chiefly Law. Of property, a privilege, etc.: to be transmitted by inheritance; to pass by heredity, pass to an heir. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > legal right > right of possession or ownership > right to succeed to title, position, or estate > succession > descend by succession [verb (intransitive)] > pass as inheritance
descenda1325
demise1823
transmit1913
a1325 Statutes of Realm (2011) xxxiv. 96 Ȝif þe lond ore þe heritage descendez þoru þe moder.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 195 (MED) The kyngdom discendede to [L. descendit ad] Euritonius.
c1436 Domesday Ipswich (BL Add. 25011) in T. Twiss Black Bk. Admiralty (1873) II. 59 (MED) That it be not barryd ne preiudice to hem, to whiche the same tenementz so yoven..owyn to descendyn.
1486 Blasyng of Armys sig. cviiiv, in Bk. St. Albans Bot the possessionis & the patrimonyes descendid to other men.
1512 Act 4 Hen. VIII c. 13 The premisses with ther appurtenaunces decended unto John last Duke of Norff.
a1552 J. Leland Itinerary (1711) II. 8 Dyvers Brethren dyed.., and by a great onlykelihod al the Landes descendid to..the Yonggest of the Brethren.
1631 W. Gouge Gods Three Arrowes iii. §93. 353 The Crowne and Kingdome by just and unquestionable title descended on her.
1667 Duchess of Newcastle Life Duke of Newcastle ii. 93 A good Estate in the West, which afterwards descended upon my Lord.
1668 M. Hale Pref. Rolle's Abridgm. 7 Lands in Fee-simple discend to the Uncle and not immediately to the Father.
1730 M. Wright Introd. Law Tenures (new ed.) 32 Military Feuds in most Countries began to descend to the eldest Son only.
1762 E. Pendleton Let. 30 Apr. in Lett. & Papers (1967) I. 15 The part devised to your Aunt Agathy was a Vested interest in her and did not survive, but descended to your father as her heir.
1804 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. II. xvii. 459 The defendant..pleaded..that the said reversion descended.
1861 G. Ross W. Bell's Dict. Law Scotl. (rev. ed.) 219 Where the deceased has died without lawful issue..heritage descends to the immediate younger brother of deceased, but conquest ascends to the immediate elder brother.
1946 J. Irving Royal Navalese 126 Oggin, the sea; the Drink; the Ditch. The term descends to us aitch-less from an earlier abuse of the sea as the Hog-Wash.
2000 Daily Tel. 17 May 31/5 In 1915 the House of Lords deemed that the barony had been created by writ, and could therefore descend to heirs general including females.
b. intransitive. Of a trait, esp. a personal characteristic or quality: to be transmitted or passed down from parent to child.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > biological processes > genetic activity > heredity or hereditary descent > [verb (intransitive)]
comeOE
descendc1443
Mendelize1903
c1443 R. Pecock Reule of Crysten Religioun (1927) 432 (MED) Þe feiþ which adam receyued fro þin aungel..descendid into his children and into her children þoruȝ a fer distaunce in lyne of descense, And þe feiþ which Noe receyued..descendid into hise children.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward IV f. ccxxvi Of a certayne priuie canker engendered in the hartes of their forefathers..and after by lyneall succession descended in to the stomackes of their nephewes.
1713 R. Steele Englishman No. 28. 182 The eternal Mark of having had a wicked Ancestor descends to his Posterity.
1843 C. J. Lever Jack Hinton (1878) iv. 20 Our principles may come from our fathers; our prejudices certainly descend from the female branch.
1909 P. Vollmer et al. John Calvin 182 Generic Calvinism has always firmly held that sin is a malady inherent in the race... It descends from sire to son in some hereditary way.
2009 P. S. Davies Subj. World v. 83 Present-day tokens of a trait qualify..only if they descend from a lineage of ancestral tokens that were selectively successful.
2. † c. transitive. To trace down (lineage). Also intransitive. Obsolete. rare.
a. intransitive (in the perfect). to be descended (from, †of): to come or derive from a particular progenitor, ancestor, or ancestral stock; to be a descendant of.Originally the perfect tense formed with be, but now felt to be a predicative use of the past participle with be.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > causation > source or origin > originate, derive, or arise [verb (intransitive)]
arisec950
syeOE
comeOE
riselOE
springc1175
buildc1340
derivec1386
sourdc1386
proceedc1390
becomea1400
to be descended (from, of)1399
bursta1400
to take roota1400
resolve?c1400
sourdre14..
springc1405
descenda1413
sprayc1425
well?a1475
depart1477
issue1481
provene1505
surmount1522
sprout1567
accrue?1576
source1599
dimane1610
move1615
drill1638
emane1656
emanate1756
originate1758
to hail from1841
deduce1866
inherita1890
stem1932
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > descendant > be descended [verb (intransitive)]
comeOE
springa1200
ofspringc1300
to be descended (from, of)1399
to run of ——?a1400
descenda1413
proceed?a1439
issuea1450
to come downc1450
outspringa1547
decline1598
1399 Rolls of Parl.: Henry IV (Electronic ed.) Parl. Oct. 1399 1st Roll §53. m. 18 I, Henry of Lancastr'..am disendit be right lyne of the blode comyng fro the gude lorde Kyng Henry therde.
c1405 (c1375) G. Chaucer Monk's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 254 Of kynges blood of Perce is she descended.
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Reeve's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 64 For holicherches good moot been despended On holicherches blood þt is descended.
?1457 J. Hardyng Chron. (Lansd.) in Eng. Hist. Rev. (1912) 27 742 So lynyall of his generacioun Ye bene discent.
a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1957) iii. ii. 54 O ȝe dowr pepil discend from Dardanus.
1581 G. Pettie tr. S. Guazzo Ciuile Conuersat. (1586) ii. 82 b Sayd to bee descended of Gentlemen.
1616 G. Markham tr. C. Estienne et al. Maison Rustique (rev. ed.) vii. xxii. 674 If a dog be not wel descended..there can be little hope of his goodnesse.
1652 Laughing Mercury No. 30. 234 Am I not, quoth he, descended from the loines of Mighty Tamberlain? was not my Grandfather a Dutchess, and my Grandmother a Count? was not my Mother a Marquess?
1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 78. ⁋8 We are descended of ancient Families.
1748 H. Walpole Let. 11 Aug. (1941) IX. 67 I am arrived at great knowledge in the annals of the house of Vere, but though I have twisted and twined their genealogy and my own a thousand ways, I cannot discover..that I am descended from them.
1818 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. (ed. 2) III. 357 Such other collateral relations as were descended from the person who first acquired it.
1888 Amer. Naturalist 22 799 Mr. Youatt has given it as his opinion that the Red Polls are descended from the Galloway breed.
1944 W. S. Maugham Razor's Edge iii. 116 I am descended in the female line from the Count de Lauria who came over to England in the suite of Philip the Second.
2004 Focus Feb. 44/2 Every human on the planet is descended from between one and seven women who were part of a group of perhaps 200 individuals a few million years ago.
b. intransitive. To come of, derive from a particular progenitor, ancestor, or ancestral stock.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > causation > source or origin > originate, derive, or arise [verb (intransitive)]
arisec950
syeOE
comeOE
riselOE
springc1175
buildc1340
derivec1386
sourdc1386
proceedc1390
becomea1400
to be descended (from, of)1399
bursta1400
to take roota1400
resolve?c1400
sourdre14..
springc1405
descenda1413
sprayc1425
well?a1475
depart1477
issue1481
provene1505
surmount1522
sprout1567
accrue?1576
source1599
dimane1610
move1615
drill1638
emane1656
emanate1756
originate1758
to hail from1841
deduce1866
inherita1890
stem1932
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > descendant > be descended [verb (intransitive)]
comeOE
springa1200
ofspringc1300
to be descended (from, of)1399
to run of ——?a1400
descenda1413
proceed?a1439
issuea1450
to come downc1450
outspringa1547
decline1598
a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1882) v. l. 1480 Of þis lord descendede Tydeus By ligne or ellys olde bokes lye.
1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) i. 61 Ony male How yat in [lyne] ewyn descendand.
a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Nero) i. l. 1684 Fra Sem discendande lynyally.
1509 J. Fisher Mornynge Remembraunce Countesse of Rychemonde (de Worde) sig. Aii They..which descended of noble lygnage.
1575 G. Fenton Golden Epist. f. 116v To confyrme to him [sc. Abraham] his promise, and to impatronize him of that Region for and in the name of suche as should discend of him.
a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) i. ii. 217 Thou should'st haue better pleas'd me with this deede, Hadst thou descended from another house. View more context for this quotation
1673 Bp. S. Parker Reproof Rehearsal Transprosed 469 If you descended of Clergy-ancestors, then (as you know) you are no better than a Canibal to be so fierce and cruel against your own kind.
1781 S. Johnson Congreve in Pref. Wks. Eng. Poets VI. 1 William Congreve, descended from a family in Staffordshire.
1788 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall (1846) IV. xli. 36 Although Theodatus descended from a race of heroes.
1843 Penny Cycl. XXV. 395/1 The Káyi,..the most illustrious of all [the Turkish tribes], because the Turks-Osmanlis descend from them.
1911 Encycl. Brit. XVII. 431/2 The Mainotes claim to descend from the Spartans.
1996 Daily Yomiuri (Tokyo) 29 Apr. 6/6 That would sit well with the second in line to the throne, Prince Sultan, the king's full brother, whose maternal line descends from the southern Sudairi clan.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > lineage or descent > genealogy as study > trace genealogies [verb (intransitive)]
descend1572
genealogize1669
1572 J. Jones Bathes of Bath Ep. Ded. sig. a.iii Whose Genealogie..may lineally be descended to your Honour.
1605 A. Willet Hexapla in Genesin 300 Some by this ladder vnderstand the genealogie of Christ: Saint Luke setting forth the same by descending from Adam downward, Saint Matthew by ascending from Ioseph vpward.
3.
a. intransitive. figurative. To derive from, originate. Frequently with from, of.
ΚΠ
?c1400 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (BL Add. 10340) (1868) iv. pr. ii. l. 3317 Hir power ne descendeþ [L. descendit] nat of strengþe but of feblesse.
c1475 (?c1400) Apol. Lollard Doctr. (1842) 21 Contumacy descendend of swilk crime.
a1500 (?a1425) tr. Secreta Secret. (Lamb.) 88 (MED) Þe werkere of meruaylles ys oon god, ffro whem ilke merueylouse werk descendys.
1565 J. Larke tr. Bk. Wisdome (new ed.) f. 96v There is difference betwene Uayneglorye and Pryde, albeit that Uayneglorye dothe descend of Pryd.
1695 J. Collier Misc. upon Moral Subj. 123 Despair..descends from a mean Original. 'Tis the Off-spring of Fear, of Laziness, and Impatience.
1725 T. Pearce Laws Stannaries Introd. p. xiii The said Conduit, which the Tinners commonly call a Tuell, and may properly descend from the Latin Word Tutela.
1824 J. Johnson Typographia II. i. 10 Black Letter. This letter, which is used in England, descended from the Gothic characters.
1880 Harper's Mag. July 268/2 These dualistic, these Manichean, ideas have descended from Zoroaster to us.
1983 R. Copeland & M. Cohen What is Dance? i. 4 Dance does not become an art..until these magical and practical beliefs are replaced by what the tradition descending from Kant and Schopenhauer calls an ‘aesthetic attitude’.
b. intransitive. to be descended from (also †out of) in same sense.With construction as in sense 2a.
ΚΠ
c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Wife of Bath's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 1083 But for ye speken of swich gentillesse As is descended out of old richesse That therfore sholden ye be gentil men Swich errogaunce is nat worth an hen.
1645 N. Stone Enchiridion of Fortification 81 It would be vain to write the Etymologies of each word, much lesse those descended of the Greeke.
1864 Ann. Rep. Board of Regents Smithsonian Inst. 1863 Gen App. 99 A study of the other forms of our language..shows it [sc. the suffix -ly] to be descended from the adjective like.
1886 Celtic Mag. Nov. 2 These languages and sub-languages can all be proved to be descended from one parent language.
1921 L. Wolf Myth Jewish Menace World Affairs i. 10 Its alternative theory is that Freemasonry is Judaical because it is descended from the Templars.
1977 K. Katzner Langs. of World (1986) ii. 188 Gujarati..is descended from Sanskrit, and is thus a member of the Indo-European family.
2005 Guardian 18 July ii. 12/3 The Aerogenerator is descended from what's known as a Darrieus rotor, which resembles an egg whisk in shape, and works something like a sideways water wheel.
II. To move down or into a lower position.In physical and non-technical senses, descend is typically found in more formal or literary language, while come down, go down, etc., are usually preferred in more informal or colloquial contexts.† 7. intransitive. To submit, yield. Obsolete. rare.† 11. intransitive. Chemistry. Of a liquid: to collect at the bottom of a vessel during distillation by the method of descent (descent n. 11). Also: to distil a substance by this method. Obsolete.
4.
a.
(a) intransitive. To move or pass from a higher to a lower physical position or place; to come or go down; to fall, sink; opposed to ascend.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > aspects of travel > travel in specific course or direction > direct one's course [verb (intransitive)] > in downward direction
descendc1330
c1330 (?a1300) Arthour & Merlin (Auch.) (1973) l. 5213 Wawain somt [read smot] on þe scheld Þat it clef..Ȝete decended þat ich dent Þurth þe armes..And þurthout flesche and bon [etc.].
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. l. 287 (MED) The moiste dropes of the reyn Descenden into Middilerthe.
c1400 (?c1380) Pearl l. 627 (MED) As sone as þay arn borne, by lyne In þe water of babtem þay dyssente.
c1429 Mirour Mans Saluacioune (1986) l. 511 A man sometyme fro Jerusalem descendande.
a1500 (?a1450) Gesta Romanorum (Harl. 7333) (1879) 66 ‘What is þe depnesse of the See?’.. ‘If I were a ston, I shuld discende to þe grounde of þe see, & telle you the soth by probacion’.
1590 J. Smythe Certain Disc. Weapons 35 b Those furious Rebells..descended downe their hil with such a furie.
1632 J. Hayward tr. G. F. Biondi Eromena 193 I passed to the Nile descending on it at my leasure to the sea.
1653 H. Cogan tr. F. M. Pinto Voy. & Adventures xxiii. 86 The water rebounded up so high that when it came to descend again it fell as small as dew.
1653 H. Cogan tr. F. M. Pinto Voy. & Adventures lxi. 251 The two Priests descended from their Pulpits.
1728 H. Pemberton View Sir I. Newton's Philos. 194 The earth in moving round the sun is continually descending toward it.
1790 W. Wrighte Grotesque Archit. 7 The two wings..are each descended to by a flight of four steps.
1823 F. Clissold Narr. Ascent Mont Blanc 19 From the heights of the mountain..immense avalanches often descend.
1866 J. Bryce Holy Rom. Empire (new ed.) iv. 49 In the autumn of 799 Charles descended from the Alps once more.
1958 A. Sillitoe Sat. Night & Sunday Morning i. iii. 57 The club steps creaked as he descended on to the path.
1997 D. Hansen Sole Survivor v. 50 Red and Archie had sat in the little chapel until the coffin had descended.
(b) intransitive. Of a divinity, or of something divine: to come down from heaven to earth. Of Christ, a person's soul after death, etc.: to go down into hell, the underworld, etc. (cf. descent n. 5c); also in extended use.
ΚΠ
c1330 Roland & Vernagu (Auch.) (1882) 131 Þan decended a liȝtnesse, Doun riȝtes fram þe heuen blis.
c1390 in C. Brown Relig. Lyrics 14th Cent. (1924) 183 Doun he [sc. Christ] decent; Þe ȝates he russchede..Þer Lucifer..lys; Adam and Eue bi hond he hent.
c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. xviii. l. 247 (MED) Þe holy gost þat out of heuene descendede.
?a1425 (?c1350) Northern Passion (Rawl.) l. 2252 (MED) Dauid and his meneyhe wend þe haly gast had þare descend.
c1450 (c1380) G. Chaucer House of Fame (Fairf. 16) (1878) l. 164 Venus..Dovne fro the heuene gan descende And bad hir sone Eneas flee.
?a1475 Ludus Coventriae (1922) 358 (MED) To here [sc. the Virgin] thou schalt..dyssende, seyinge here sche shal comyn to myn eternyte.
a1535 T. More Dialoge of Comfort (1553) ii. xviii. sig. L.viv At a poppe downe they descend into hell.
1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Euensong f. vii Who suffered for oure saluacion: descended into hell, rose agayne the third daye from the dead.
c1600 (?c1395) Pierce Ploughman's Crede (Trin. Cambr. R.3.15) (1873) l. 807 (MED) Leue þou on..Jesu Crist..he..descended adoune to þe derk helle.
1648 R. Herrick Hesperides sig. Aa3 Should Jupiter agen Descend from heaven, to re-converse with men.
1690 J. Norris Christian Blessedness 23 To descend into the lowest Abyss of Humility and Self-abdication.
1739 J. Morgan Lives Persons Eastern Nations 6 This Eblis..descended from Heaven into this World and made War with the Divs and Peris.
1790 A. Francis Misc. Poems 54 Lo! beamy Hope, descends from heaven, In native glory bright! Deck'd in the panoply of love..She radiates on the sight!
1860 N. Amer. Rev. Oct. 552 Descend from heaven, Urania, by that name If rightly thou art called.
1892 Scribner's Mag. July 46/1 Orpheus, who descended into hell to save a soul.
1936 M. R. Anand Coolie iii. 121 When he recovered from his illness..he descended again into the inferno of the factory.
1998 Chicago Tribune 27 Aug. ii. 2/3 An opening set from Japanese indie favorites Buffalo Daughter that was cheery, engaging, and went on far too long before descending into prog rock hell.
2006 Times Higher Educ. Suppl. (Nexis) 22 Dec. 24 Jesus himself descends to Hell (or Hades) to liberate the righteous dead from Satan's jurisdiction.
(c) intransitive. Medicine and Biology. Of an organ of the body: to be displaced downwards, esp. during embryological development; spec. (of a mammalian testis) to migrate from the abdominal cavity to the scrotum (cf. maldescended adj., undescended adj. 2).
ΚΠ
1741 J. Parsons Mech. & Crit. Enq. Hermaphrodites 28 Sometimes the Testes do not descend into the Scrotum, but remain in the Unguina.
1783 B. Bell Syst. Surg. v. 252 When the testicle is ready to descend, it does not fall down, as has been commonly imagined, along the fore part of the peritonæum.
1838 W. Lawrence Treat. Ruptures (ed. 5) 569 The gubernaculum had drawn out of the abdomen a portion of peritoneum, which would have formed the tunica vaginalis, if the testicle had descended.
1882 A. W. Edis Dis. Women (ed. 2) xviii. 244 In very rare instances the ovary descends into the labium majus, or into a pouch of peritoneum.., giving rise to the supposition of hermaphroditism.
1920 Ann. Surg. 71 121 The epithelium lining this tract through which the thyroid descends normally disappears early in fetal life.
1966 G. P. Wright & W. S. Symmers Systemic Pathol. I. xxvi. 812/1 A testis that is still descending at about the end of the first year of life may fail to reach the bottom of the scrotum.
1992 Saudi Med. Jrnl. 12 510/2 During fetal development, the central portion of thyroid gland descends from the foramen caecum to the base of the neck.
2011 Ottawa Citizen b5 Normally, in dogs, the testes descend from inside the abdomen to the scrotum by 10 days of age, while in cats, they descend shortly before birth.
b. intransitive. Astronomy and Astrology. Of a celestial object or zodiacal sign: (a) to move away from the zenith towards the horizon, to sink; (of a planet) to move to where it has less astrological influence; (b) to move southwards.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > heavenly body > movement of heavenly bodies > move [verb (intransitive)] > set
setc1300
descendc1392
declinec1430
resconse1503
stoop?1615
c1392 Equatorie of Planetis 42 Day by day shaltow descende in the meridional lyne after þt the reknynge of thy verrey argument requerith.
c1400 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) ii. §12. 23 Than fond I the [2] degree of libra..dessending on my west Orisonte.
a1500 Lancelot of Laik (1870) 972 The sone discending closit in the vest.
1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 23 The signes in equall tymes do ascend and descende.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iv. 541 The setting Sun Slowly descended . View more context for this quotation
1690 W. Leybourn Cursus mathematicus f. 832 Mars..from the Northern limit..to ☋..is North descending.
1796 C. Hutton Math. & Philos. Dict. I. 368/2 In which case the sign is said to descend rightly..and sometimes..obliquely.
a1835 J. Hogg Flodden Field & Colour Hawick Common-riding (1837) 31 Sol, with broaden'd orb, descending, Left fierce warriors still contending.
1882 I. Sharpless & G. M. Philips Astron. for Schools 21 If these northern or circumpolar stars be watched..such as are to the west of the pole will descend.
1926 I. M. Pagan From Pioneer to Poet (ed. 2) iii. 229 The sign descending on the horizon at the moment of birth gives a clue to the type of mental energy.
2010 M. Gros In Tune with Moon 2011 4/1 The Moon can, for example, wax and descend at the same time.
c. intransitive. Of a cloud, storm, or immaterial thing (frequently something with negative, solemn, or quiet connotations, as depression, gloom, darkness, silence, etc.): to begin to affect, or settle upon, a person or place.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > move downwards [verb (intransitive)]
styc825
astyc975
alightOE
to fall adownOE
hieldc1275
downcomea1300
sink?a1300
avalec1374
to go downa1375
to come downc1380
dipc1390
descenda1393
clinea1400
declinea1400
downc1400
inclinec1400
vailc1400
fallc1440
devall1477
condescendc1485
to get down1567
lower1575
dismount1579
to fall down1632
down?1701
demount1837
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) v. l. 4579 (MED) Yit ate laste here oghne guile Upon here oghne hed descendeth.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 10884 And godds might in þe descend.
?a1425 Mandeville's Trav. (Egerton) (1889) 36 (MED) Intill his awen heued his wikkedness schall descend.
1546 Wycklyffes Wycket sig. A.ixv Ye say that the manhoode of Christe descendethe into eche parte of euery hoost.
1594 T. Kyd tr. R. Garnier Cornelia i. 220 If gentle Peace Discend not soone, our sorrowes to surcease, Latium..will be destroyd.
1612 W. Parkes Curtaine-drawer 6 If any vice arise from the Court..it immediatly discends to the Cittie.
1665 L. Muggleton True Interpr. Revelation St. John xvii. 57 And hath not the same darkness descended upon the mindes of them that profess themselves to be Christians, besides that pitchy and black darkness that lieth upon the heathen?
1725 E. Fenton in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey I. iv. 1012 And on the suitors let thy wrath descend.
1795 J. Boaden Secret Tribunal i. 6 Adieu! may every bliss descend upon you, That I have power to wish, or you enjoy.
1804 J. Forbes Let. 14 July in Lett. from France (1806) II. xc. 400 The shades of evening began to descend.
1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus Poems l. 10 Sleep nor quiet upon my eyes descended.
1934 J. B. Priestley Eng. Journey viii. We arrived in Manchester that afternoon just in time to see a fog descend upon the city and to escape its worst consequences.
1991 P. James et al. Cent. of Darkness (1992) 69 The concept of a Dark Age which is supposed to have descended on Greece after the end of the Late Bronze has crystallized into a picture which is now highly developed and detailed.
d. intransitive. To disembark, land from a vessel; to alight from a horse, carriage, etc. Now chiefly historical.In early use frequently in passive.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > [verb (intransitive)] > disembark or go ashore
landc1384
descendc1405
aland1578
disembark1582
disbark1585
shore1600
disboard?1615
debark1694
deboard1962
society > travel > transport > riding on horse (or other animal) > ride a horse (or other animal) [verb (intransitive)] > dismount
lighteOE
alightOE
falla1300
avoid1485
demountc1540
elight1542
descend1548
avale1590
dismount1594
alighten1600
unlight1623
unhorse1633
unmount1655
to get off1688
c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Franklin's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 534 To Britayne tooke they the righte way..[A]nd been descended ther they wolde abyde.
c1440 S. Scrope tr. C. de Pisan Epist. of Othea (St. John's Cambr.) (1970) 48 Whanne Jason, Hercules and their felawys..were aryved and descendid at the porte of Troye for to refresch them with-oute hurte of the cuntre.
1477 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Hist. Jason (1913) 98 They ben in entencion for to descende in Colchos.
a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1959) vii. xiii. 110 To schaw..Quhou Troianys war discend in Latyum.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VI f. clxxvjv They left their horses, & discended to fight on fote.
1600 E. Blount tr. G. F. di Conestaggio Hist. Uniting Portugall to Castill 263 Having viewed the Iland fortified on all parts where he might descend.
a1652 A. Wilson Hist. Great Brit. (1653) 54 As he was descending, the Horse full of fire and heat, prevented him, threw him down before the King, and broke his leg.
1726 A. Pope tr. Homer Odyssey IV. xv. 30 Their sails they loos'd, they lash'd the mast aside, And cast their anchors, and the cables ty'd: Then on the breezy shore descending, join In grateful banquet o'er the rosy wine.
1825 Mirror of Lit. 20 Aug. 140/1 The coach door being opened, the priest nearest to it descended.
1873 ‘M. Twain’ & C. D. Warner Gilded Age xxix. 269 Next morning..he descended, sleepy and sore, from a way-train.
1957 J. Osborne Entertainer (1961) 33 Why when a woman got out of a cab, she descended.
2014 C. Palliser Rustication 259 I descended and the coach rumbled on ahead of me.
e. transitive. To cause to descend; to bring or send down. Now somewhat rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > causing to come or go down > cause to come or go down [verb (transitive)]
besench971
avalec1314
sinka1325
lighta1400
to get downa1450
abasec1450
descenda1475
base1489
fall1595
slopea1616
dimit1628
demit1646
send1657
down1852
dip1879
a1475 Revelations St. Birgitta (Garrett) (1929) 9 (MED) Her followers..shall be kytt of and descended from hem as a wall that is dystroyde.
1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende f. xxj/1 Assoylle the synnars whan thou descendest in to helle them of thy partye.
1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure (1928) xxvii. 122 I shewe my power in euery sundry wyse Some to descende and on some to aryse.
1628 O. Felltham Resolves: 2nd Cent. xiii. sig. K4 As steps, that descend vs toward our graues.
a1676 M. Hale Primitive Originat. Mankind (1677) iii. iv. 267 The Seminal Tincture of the Herb..being again descended by Dews or Rain upon the..Earth.
1895 H. Crackanthorpe Sentim. Stud. 70 Had he aided her, as it were, to descend his figure from that pedestal,..they might have set it uninjured on a lower and less exposed plane.
1979 R. Prest F4 Phantom vii. 83 Boss turns the formation onto 270 degrees and descends the unwieldy mass to one thousand feet.
2004 C. Gross Rattler One-seven v. 54 He lowered the collective and descended the helicopter below the ridgelines.
f. transitive. To go or come down (a hill, wall, flight of steps, etc.); to pass downwards over, along, or through (a space).
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > descend [verb (transitive)]
avalea1513
descend1536
dismount1589
to fall down ——1600
sink1805
society > travel > aspects of travel > travel in specific course or direction > direct (one's course, steps, etc.) [verb (transitive)] > go down (a hill, etc.)
avalea1513
descend1667
lower1780
1536 tr. G. Gnapheus Myrrour for Syke sig. Gvii He wolde not starte though he sawe the deuyll, no though he must descende the hell.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. xlv He desyred the kynge that he myghte haue knowlege by noone that daye, whether he of hys noble courage woulde discende the hyll.
1632 J. Hayward tr. G. F. Biondi Eromena 122 With a ladder of cords..speedily descended the walls.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost xii. 606 They both descend the Hill. View more context for this quotation
1757 E. Burke Philos. Enq. Sublime & Beautiful iv. §17. 146 If, after descending a flight of stairs, we attempt inadvertently to take another step in the manner of the former ones, the shock is extreamly rude and disagreeable.
1799 H. T. Colebrooke in T. E. Colebrooke Life H. Colebrooke (1873) 437 Laden on canoes and small boats, to descend the Mahánadí.
1807 C. Hutton Course Math. (ed. 5) II. 151 To find the space descended by a body in 7 seconds.
1891 E. Peacock Narcissa Brendon I. 221 The two women descended the steps.
1929 M. de la Roche Whiteoaks viii. 118 He went in at the side door, and descended, with rather jerky movements, the short flight of steps leading to the basement.
1999 Financial Times 9 Oct. (FT Weekend section) p. XVI/4 It has since been descended only once more—by a snowboarder.
5. intransitive. In discourse or writing: to proceed or go on to what follows, esp. from the general to the particular.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > speech-making > make a speech [verb (intransitive)] > progress through speech
descend1340
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 123 Ac er þan ich decendi to þe uirtues þet byeþ contraries to þe zeue zennes, ich þe wylle speke ssortliche of zeue oþre uirtues.
a1402 J. Trevisa tr. R. Fitzralph Defensio Curatorum (Harl.) (1925) 39 (MED) Forto descende anoon to my mater: Lo! holy fader, ich came in a tyme to Londoun [etc.].
?c1430 (?1382) J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 513 To discende doun in specialte, fful mane articlis..ben openly contrarie to þe apostlis reule.
1567 W. Painter Palace of Pleasure II. xxviii, f. 307v He would not by any meanes descend to any particularitie of his purpose, but his words ran general.
1576 A. Fleming tr. C. Longolius in Panoplie Epist. 406 From thence hee descendeth to particular affayres.
a1617 S. Hieron Present for Caesar in Wks. (1620) II. 461 By these degrees did our Sauiour discend to this speech.
1629 W. Prynne Church of Englands Old Antithesis 54 Descend wee vnto Edward the VI. his pious Raigne.
1656 J. Smith Myst. Rhetorique Unvail'd Alphabet. Table sig. av Whereby we having spoken of a thing in general, descend unto particulars.
1779 T. Percy Let. 27 Mar. in Percy Lett. (1954) IV. 140 The writer..seldom descended far into the circumstances.
1797 E. Burke Lett. Peace Regic. France iii, in Wks. (1815) VIII. 380 But let us descend to particulars.
1827 T. B. Macaulay Machiavelli in Ess. (1854) 32/1 Historians rarely descend to those details from which alone the real state of a community can be collected.
1898 Morning Post 19 Nov. 5/3 We will not descend to details, for we see no reason for rejecting the hand held out by Mr. Chamberlain.
1918 Washington Law Reporter 20 Dec. 809/1 The court, upon motion, may in its discretion require the pleader in such case to descend to particulars.
1999 Sunday Times (Nexis) 28 Feb. When, towards the end of the book, he briefly descends to specifics, the result is embarrassingly feeble.
6.
a. intransitive. To come down from a moral, behavioural, social, or intellectual ideal; to condescend, stoop (to do something, esp. something unworthy).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > degrading or debasement > become degraded or debased [verb (intransitive)] > stoop to something unworthy
descendc1350
precipitate1593
to forget oneself1597
condescend1640
stoop1743
c1350 Psalter (BL Add. 17376) in K. D. Bülbring Earliest Compl. Eng. Prose Psalter (1891) xxix. 11 (MED) What profit is in my penaunce, þer-whiles þat ich descended [L. descendero] in-to synne?
?c1400 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (BL Add. 10340) (1868) ii. pr. iv. l. 1148 It may nat ben douted..þat al þe kynde of mortal þingus ne descendiþ in to wrecchednesse by þe ende of þe deeþ [L. in miseriam mortis fine labatur].
?a1560 T. Waterton in T. Wright Songs & Ballads Reign Philip & Mary (1860) 9 Hath made wronge ryght, and from the truth desendyd.
1590 R. Hitchcock tr. F. Sansovino Quintesence of Wit f. 83 Alwaies from the good we discend to euill.
1608 Bp. J. Hall Characters Vertues & Vices i. 54 If..he descend to disports of chance, his games shall neuer make him..pale with feare.
1626 in J. Rushworth Hist. Coll. (1659) 225 He hath descended to make this Explanation.
1707 J. Norris Pract. Treat. Humility iii. 99 To see men..descend to the meanest and unworthiest compliances.
1752 S. Johnson Rambler No. 208. ⁋3 I have seldom descended to the arts by which favour is obtained.
1771 ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra (1772) II. liv. 229 I..will not descend to answer the little sneering sophistries of a collegian.
1813 Ld. Byron Giaour (ed. 7) 42 Not oft to smile descendeth he.
1829 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 26 599 Wordsworth..descends to such babyisms.
1853 T. T. Lynch Lect. Self-improvem. v. 129 A man should never descend to his company, but he should condescend to it.
1936 Amer. Home Feb. 68/2 Bay leaves were used to crown the victorious leaders of Rome. Now descended from their high estate, the housewife uses them to flavor soup.
1993 H. Jacobson Roots Schmoots ii. 30 I cannot descend to mere irritancy, even if it is as an irritant that I've been hired.
b. intransitive. Of a situation, sequence of events, etc.: to degenerate or deteriorate into (or occasionally to) a less desirable state or condition.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > badness or evil > worse > [verb (intransitive)]
worseeOE
aswindc885
worsena1250
appair1340
impair1340
fainta1375
pairc1390
vade1471
decay1511
decline1530
degenerate1545
lapse1641
addle1654
sunset1656
deteriorate1758
worst1781
descend1829
disimprove1846
slush1882
devolute1893
worser1894
1829 New Monthly Mag. 26 576 The great duty is to prevent the revolution that we are now contemplating from descending into anarchy.
1888 Huddersfield Chron. 25 Aug. 8/1 These should be overhauled to prevent..local differences from descending into chaos.
1915 Calif. Law Rev. 3 477 The play descended into farce.
1987 W. Stafford Socialism, Radicalism, & Nostalgia 50 Civilization would descend to barbarism.
1995 Guardian (Nexis) 21 Oct. 32 Northern Ireland descended into violence at the beginning of the 1970s.
2010 Sc. Express (Nexis) 24 Aug. 1 Police were criticised last night after mass protest by hundreds of eco-warriors descended into chaos.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > difficulty > opposition > absence of resistance > offer no resistance [verb (intransitive)] > give in
descend?a1400
to give up the girdlea1400
submita1525
to give over1530
subscribe1560
yield1576
come1607
to give in1616
to give the stoop1623
buckle1642
incumb1656
to knock under board, under (the) table1692
capitulate1714
to strike underc1730
knuckle down1735
cave1844
to throw (also chuck) up the sponge1860
incline1866
to give (it) best1878
give way1879
to roll over1919
the mind > language > speech > agreement > consent > [verb (intransitive)] > comply
descend?a1400
condescend1429
yield?a1500
contentc1530
submit1667
comply1671
to come about1709
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 270 To what manere of pes þe parties wille descend.
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 134 In pes with ȝow to lyue, & at ȝour conseil descend.
c1475 Gregory's Chron. in J. Gairdner Hist. Coll. Citizen London (1876) 116 The towne dysendyd for to trete whythe the kynge, and the kynge commyttyd the trety unto Thomas Erle of Saulysbury.
8.
a. intransitive. To slope or extend downwards.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > inclination > incline or be oblique [verb (intransitive)] > slope > downwards
descendc1400
declinec1420
fall1573
cope1601
devall1632
dip1665
drip1678
siddle1894
the world > space > direction > specific directions > have specific directions [verb (intransitive)] > have downward direction > extend downwards
falleOE
descendc1400
to grow down?1523
dip1854
slope1877
society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > go or lead (of a road or path) [verb (intransitive)] > go downwards
descend1600
c1400 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) i. §4. 4 A lyne, þat cometh dessendinge fro the ryng down to the nethereste bordure.
?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 172 It streccheth toward the West..descendynge toward the litill Armenye.
c1450 J. Metham Palmistry (Garrett) in Wks. (1916) 88 Yff in the same lyne sqwyche strekys decende and in the myddys be kyt or dyuydyd with odyr lynys or strekys, thise lynys sygnyfye gret vexacion, troubyl and angyrrys.
?1541 R. Copland Guy de Chauliac's Questyonary Cyrurgyens ii. sig. Iivv The synew suspensory and sensyfe that descendeth to the genytalles.
1581 T. Nicholas tr. A. de Zárate Discov. & Conquest Peru vi. sig. C. iiii But the people doe prouide themselues of water of the Riuers which descend out of the mountaines.
1600 J. Pory tr. J. Leo Africanus Geogr. Hist. Afr. ii. 236 Their streetes either descend or ascend, which is verie troublesome.
1678 R. Cudworth tr. Maximus of Tyre in True Intellect. Syst. Universe i. iv. 445 See, how the order and chain of this government descends down by steps and degrees, from the Supreme God to the Earth and Men.
1684 R. Howlett School Recreat. 120 The dash Lines..are added only when the Notes ascend above the Staff, or descend below it.
1762 Hist. Apparitions 70 He was covered with a long sooty garment that descended to his ancles.
1798 H. Skrine Two Tours Wales 155 With a gateway at each extremity, as the hill descends.
1840 E. Wilson Anatomist's Vade Mecum (1842) 342 The Vertebral vein descends by the side of the vertebral artery.
1894 Christian World 27 Sept. 712/1 To your right..the fields descend from your feet to the Chesil Beach.
1931 A. D. Hall Soil (ed. 4) i. 24 Thin as the soil may be as a whole, in places it descends into cavities and ‘pipes’ in the rock, sometimes 20 or 30 feet deep.
2001 Oxoniensia 65 66 The lead down-pipe descends between the 17th- and the 18th-century building to be drained away in the 19th-century cellar.
b. transitive. Of a path, road, flight of steps, etc.: to slope or lead down (a hill, mountain, or other gradient).
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > inclination > incline or be oblique [verb (intransitive)]
lean1398
embelif1413
incline1553
cast1599
shelve1644
descend1675
slant1698
angle1741
cant1794
squint1799
oblique1814
1675 J. Ogilby Britannia 53 You over Honiton Bridg cross the River Otter or Autre; whence an irregular Road, descending an Hill, conveys you to Rockbere.
1769 Descr. Eng. & Wales I. 65 The road descends an hill, between Craven-park, and Wickham-heath, and leaves the county at Hungerford.
1795 A. W. Radcliffe Journey made in Summer 1794 480 The road descends the flinty steeps towards the eastern bank of the lake.
1829 C. J. Latrobe Alpenstock viii. 294 The mule path descending the mountain runs into the narrow gully of the Reclus.
1868 M. P. Parmelee Life Scenes Mountains of Ararat iii. 23 Steamers..invariably..[offer] no other facilities to comers and goers than a flight of stairs descending the side of the steamer to the water's edge.
1917 P. E. Richards Let. 7 July in Indian Dust (1932) 132 We have a small garden here, in terraces, descending the hillside.
1992 Nova Scotia Trav. Guide 54/1 As the highway gradually descends the mountain ridge, watch for signs.
2010 T. Dombrowski Secret Beaches Greater Victoria 101 These cliffs themselves (notwithstanding the presence of the houses and their precipitous staircases descending the cliff faces) are well worth viewing.
9.
a. intransitive. To make a hostile incursion or attack; to fall violently upon. Cf. to come down 2b at come v. Phrasal verbs 1.In early use frequently in passive.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > attack > attack [verb (transitive)] > attack suddenly
to come on ——eOE
to come upon ——c1175
to start upon ——a1393
to start on ——a1398
descend?a1425
to come down1539
surprise1548
ambuscade1676
insult1775
swoop1797
Pearl Harbour1943
?a1425 (?a1350) T. Castleford Chron. (1940) l. 23015 (MED) Descendande doun on þam we sale And ruse þam doun in to þe dale.
a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) i. l. 2927 Zizara, which was descendid doun With a gret hoost.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward IV f. ccxxviiv The kyng of England your master, is neither descended in these partes of his owne fre mocion, nor yet of vs requyred.
1579 G. Fenton tr. F. Guicciardini Hist. Guicciardin iv. 231 The Pisans..had made towardes S. Anthony certeine murdering houses within the ditche, to thende that if the enemie discended, it should not bee filled vp by them.
1600 E. Blount tr. G. F. di Conestaggio Hist. Uniting Portugall to Castill 188 That the Turke woulde descend upon his realme of Naples.
1678 N. Wanley Wonders Little World ii. ii. 110/1 Rhadagisus with 200000 Goths descended into Italy, devoting the blood of all the Roman Stock to his Gods.
1785 Asiatick Misc. 1 323 The people of Rekheng..have even been so hostile as to descend on the coast of Chittagong, proceed into the country, plunder and burn the villages, destroy what they could not carry away, and make slaves of the inhabitants.
1844 G. L. Smyth Ireland I. iii. 96 The mailed invader descended upon the soft and fruitful soil of the barony of Forth.
1887 C. Bowen tr. Virgil Æneid i, in tr. Virgil in Eng. Verse 95 Not upon Libya's hearths to descend with sword and with fire.
1902 G. S. Whitmore Last Maori War p. xi A sudden inroad of armed natives descended upon the western frontier of the till then peaceful province of Hawke's Bay.
1994 A. Gurnah Paradise (1995) 176 One evening a troop of baboons descended on them and made off with whatever they could carry.
b. intransitive. To arrive suddenly, unexpectedly, or disruptively; to make an inconvenient or unwelcome visit. Frequently with on or upon.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > social event > visit > visiting > visit [verb (transitive)] > unexpectedly
to fall in1788
descend1882
1882 Music & Drama 2 Sept. 19/1 Alice Gates' Comic Opera Company descend upon the city Monday.
1888 S. J. White Housekeepers & Homemakers xv. 142 What it is to have company descend upon them just a little before dinner-time.
1916 A. Huxley Lett. (1969) 98 I have at the moment staying with me in Balliol young Robert Nichols, who descended on me for a day or two.
1971 ‘R. Lewis’ Error of Judgment i. 12 What a trial it must be for her..to have an HMI descend on the college.
2014 PC Pro Apr. 16/1 The world's biggest consumer electronics show, one that sees 150,000 people descend on Las Vegas every January.
10.
a. intransitive. Music. Of sound: to fall in pitch; to proceed to a lower note, go down a scale.
ΚΠ
a1450 Musical Treat. in Speculum (1935) 10 259 (MED) Yf þe plain-song descende & ende downward as ffa, mi, mi, re, re, vt.
1562 T. Sternhold et al. Whole Bk. Psalmes To Rdr. sig. ✠.vv Like wise may ye practise..ascending vp to la, and descending as in your former example.
1597 T. Morley Plaine & Easie Introd. Musicke 81 It is vnpossible to ascende or descende in continuall deduction without a discord.
1655 Campion's Art of composing Musick in Parts in J. Playford Introd. Skill Musick ii. 4 If the Notes descend a second.
1672 J. Playford Introd. Skill Musick (ed. 6) 88 Practice to play this Example of the Notes ascending and descending.
1706 A. Bedford Temple Musick ix. 176 A Tune, which consisted of only Three Notes in Compass, Rising gradually in the first Part, and descending..in the Second.
1797 Encycl. Brit. XII. 538 (note) When the treble syncopates in descending diatonically.
1848 E. F. Rimbault First Bk. Pianoforte 35 In the Major Scale the two semitones retain their situations, both ascending and descending.
1921 E. Amey Conscious Control in Piano Stud. ix. 82 Leaving the key of B♭ major by a chromatic sequence figure of four notes descending by half-steps for four changes.
1996 R. D. Larson Music from House of Hammer vi. 107 Whereas before, after the first few notes, the melody descended..it now rises.
b. intransitive. To come or go down in any scale.
ΚΠ
1605 Bp. J. Hall Medit. & Vowes II. §78 Winter comes on softly, first by colde dewes, then hoare frostes, vntill at last it descende to the hardest weather of all.
a1640 J. Fletcher & P. Massinger False One v. ii, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Ss2/1 Thy glories now have touch'd the highest point, And must descend.
1789 Loiterer 16 May 7 No sooner did the noise of their hammers descend to a certain degree, than he discovered signs of restlessness.
1811 J. Black tr. A. von Humboldt Polit. Ess. New Spain I. 65 At Havannah the centigrade thermometer descends to 0°.
1894 E. L. Bill Last of Danvers vii. 105 The further we advanced the lower the noble red men of the West descended in my estimation.
1914 Pennsylvania Med. Jrnl. Dec. 196/2 Rest may lower it, but the pressure descends because the cardiac condition is relieved.
2003 M. S. Peden tr. I. Allende My Invented Country (2004) 4 The temperature descended to the point where water froze in our glasses.
c. intransitive. Mathematics. Of a series or sequence: to proceed from higher to lower quantities; to proceed from higher to lower mathematical entities, according to some particular scheme of ordering. Cf. descending adj. 5.
ΚΠ
1715 G. Cheyne Philos. Princ. Relig.: Pt. II iii. 162 We do not descend from 1 to 0 at one Step, but must pass through an infinite Series of Fractions ½, ⅓, ¼, ⅕, &c.
1876 E. Brooks Philos. Arith. 347 The sum of the terms of an infinite series descending equals the first term divided by 1 minus the rate.
1978 J. S. Rose Course Group Theory vii. 149 Among all the abelian series of a soluble group there is one which descends most rapidly.
2003 M. J. Tipler & K. M. Vickers New National Framework Math.: Teacher Planning Pack 8 ix. 111 When a sequence descends such as 20, 18, 16, 14, … some pupils will say that d = 2 instead of −2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > chemical reactions or processes > subject to chemical reactions or processes [verb (transitive)] > subject to named chemical reaction or process > subject to distillation > subject to descent distillation
descenda1475
a1475 Bk. Quinte Essence (1889) 4 Þat þing þat by vertues of fier ascendith and distillith wiþinne þe vessel..eftsoones ascendith, & eft descendiþ.
a1500 (?1471) G. Ripley Epist. Edward IV (Ashm.) f. 105 (MED) Fyrst calcyn, and after that putrefie, Dissolue, distille, sublyme, descende, and fixe.
1692 W. Salmon tr. Khalid Secret of Secrets in Medicina Practica ii. xxxiv. 312/1 Then make it to discend, and its green color will be made Red, and as clear as a Hyacinth.
1757 A. Cooper Compl. Distiller i. iv. 28 Distillation per descensum..is, when the Fire being placed upon the Vessel precipitates, or causes the Spirit to descend.
1830 Jonas's Distillers' Pract. Guide (new ed.) in J. Sheridan tr. A. P. Dubrunfaut Compl. Treat. Art Distillation ii. 40 The neck of the vessel should then turn by a sharp curve on an elbow, so that the substance after condensation..may, by its gravity, descend as quickly as possible.
12. intransitive. to descend into (also within) oneself: to sink into deep meditation, consideration, or thought.Now chiefly in religious contexts.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > consciousness > contemplation of self > reflect on oneself [verb]
bethinkc1000
rememberc1405
to descend into (also within) oneself1539
finger1546
reflect1595
recollect1640
introvert1671
Hamletize1844
introspect1884
1539 R. Morison tr. J. L. Vives Introd. Wisedome sig. Cv Let euery man descende downe into hym selfe [L. secedat in se vnusquisque], and there secretely thynke welle vppon this matter.
a1572 J. Knox Hist. Reformation Scotl. (1587) 277 To moue the heartes..of the true seruauntes of God..to discend within them selues, and deepely to consider, what shall be the ende of this pretended tyrannie.
1594 T. Bowes tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. II. 11 Those Philosophers that..descended not into themselues, to know themselues and their nature.
1653 J. Howell German Diet sig. Gg.1v When I descend into my self, and contemplat my most terrible horrible terribility, I can hardly hold my self within my self.
1671 J. Milton Paradise Regain'd ii. 111 The while her Son..with holiest Meditations fed, Into himself descended, and at once All his great work to come before him set. View more context for this quotation
1736 R. Brookes tr. J.-B. Du Halde et al. Gen. Hist. China IV. 60 Watch every Moment over your Heart, descend often into yourself, and pardon yourself no Fault.
1828 J. W. Cunningham Morning Thoughts Gospel St. Matthew (ed. 2) 41 And how, without this occasional, and even frequent, retirement, can we hope to ‘descend into ourselves’?
1864 H. Melvill Lect. Pract. Subj. xx. 402 Descend into yourselves, search into yourselves, and be content with no evidence but that of an increasing love of God.
1909 Princeton Theol. Rev. July 410 He [sc. Calvin] does proclaim the immanence of God and invites us to look upon His works or to descend within ourselves to find Him.
1992 A. H. Rushdy Empty Garden ii. iii. 263 Jesus descends into himself—into his mind, his personality—in order to ascend through Satan's earthly kingdoms to his spiritual.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2015; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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