descent

8 definitions • 16 examples

the state or fact of being related to a particular person or group of people who lived in the past:

of African, European, Asian, etc. descent There are more than a hundred million people of African descent in Latin America.

The disease is most common among people of northern European descent.

descent from The evidence supports our descent from a common ancestor.

claim descent 40 million people in the world claim Scottish descent, she says.

direct descent They are looking for people with direct descent from the indigenous peoples who lived here before Europeans arrived.

line of descent They trace their line of descent back to a French duke.

an occasion when a group of people arrive somewhere, usually suddenly or unexpectedly:

descent on We weren't prepared for the descent of thousands of journalists on the town.

a movement down:

final descent The plane began to make its final descent into the airport.

The descent was a little bumpy.

a surface that slopes downwards, such as the side of a hill:

descent to There is a steep descent to the village below.

The resort has one of the longest vertical descents in the Alps.

a change in someone's behaviour, or in a situation, from good to bad:

descent into His descent into crime was rapid.

the origin of people in your family background:

Their mother is of Irish descent (= family origin).

the arrival of something or someone, esp. when it is unpleasant or unwanted:

The descent of dozens of motorcycles terrified local residents.

a way down, such as a path, or an act of coming down:

A steep descent from the peak brings you to a meadow.

The plane is making its final descent into the airport.