Descending

de·scend  (d-snd)

v. de·scend·ed, de·scend·ing, de·scends

v.intr.

1. To move from a higher to a lower place; come or go down.

2. To slope, extend, or incline downward: "A rough path descended like a steep stair into the plain" (J.R.R. Tolkien).

3.

a. To come from an ancestor or ancestry: He was descended from a pioneer family.

b. To come down from a source; derive: a tradition descending from colonial days.

c. To pass by inheritance: The house has descended through four generations.

4. To lower oneself; stoop: "She, the conqueror, had descended to the level of the conquered" (James Bryce).

5. To proceed or progress downward, as in rank, pitch, or scale: titles listed in descending order of importance; notes that descended to the lower register.

6. To arrive or attack in a sudden or an overwhelming manner: summer tourists descending on the seashore village.

v.tr.

1.

a. To move from a higher to a lower part of; go down.

b. To get down from: "People descended the minibus that shuttled guests to the nearby . . . beach" (Howard Kaplan).

2. To extend or proceed downward along: a road that descended the mountain in sharp curves.

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[Middle English descenden, from Old French descendre, from Latin dscendere : d-, de- + scandere, to climb; see skand- in Indo-European roots.]

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de·scendi·ble, de·scenda·ble adj.

Thesaurus

Adj.

1.

descending - coming down or downward down - being or moving lower in position or less in some value; "lay face down"; "the moon is down"; "our team is down by a run"; "down by a pawn"; "the stock market is down today" ascending - moving or going or growing upward; "the ascending plane"; "the ascending staircase"; "the ascending stems of chickweed"