descendant

descendant
/di sen"deuhnt/, n.
1. a person or animal that is descended from a specific ancestor; an offspring.
2. something deriving in appearance, function, or general character from an earlier form.
3. an adherent who follows closely the teachings, methods, practices, etc., of an earlier master, as in art, music, philosophy, etc.; disciple.
4. Astrol.
a. the point opposite the ascendant.
b. the point of the ecliptic or the sign and degree of the zodiac setting below the western horizon at the time of a birth or of an event.
c. the cusp of the seventh house.
adj.
5. descending; descendent.
[1425-75; late ME descendaunt (adj.) < OF descendant, prp. of descendre. See DESCEND, -ANT]

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • descendant — descendant, ante [ desɑ̃dɑ̃, ɑ̃t ] adj. et n. • v. 1260; de descendre 1 ♦ Qui descend, est issu d un ancêtre. Ligne descendante (opposé à ascendante) . N. Personne qui est issue d un ancêtre. ⇒ enfant, petits enfants; neveu; descendance. « Ces… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • descendant — descendant, ante 1. (dè san dan, dan t ) adj. 1°   Qui descend, qui va en bas. •   Serait ce abuser de la permission de conjecturer que de supposer qu il y a aussi un suc descendant ou dont la direction est en sens opposé ?, BONNET Consid. corps… …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • Descendant — or Descendent may refer to: Lineal descendant, a blood relative in the direct line of descent Collateral descendant, a relative descended from a brother or sister of an ancestor Descendant (astrology), the point directly opposite from the… …   Wikipedia

  • descendant — de·scen·dant also de·scen·dent /di sen dənt/ n: a blood relative of a later generation Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996. descendant …   Law dictionary

  • descendant — mid 15c. (adj.), c.1600 (n.), from Fr. descendant (13c.), prp. of descendre (see DESCEND (Cf. descend)). Despite a tendency to use descendent for the adjective and descendant for the noun, descendant seems to be prevailing in all uses and appears …   Etymology dictionary

  • Descendant — De*scend ant, a. [F. descendant, p. pr. of descendre. Cf. {Descendent}.] Descendent. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Descendant — De*scend ant, n. One who descends, as offspring, however remotely; correlative to ancestor or ascendant. [1913 Webster] Our first parents and their descendants. Hale. [1913 Webster] The descendant of so many kings and emperors. Burke. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • descendant — descendant, descendent In BrE descendant is the noun and descendent is the adjective, but in AmE either form is used in both cases …   Modern English usage

  • descendant — or descendent Those persons who are in the blood stream of the ancestor. Term means those descended from another, persons who proceed from a body of another such as a child or grandchild, to the remotest degree; it is the opposite of ascendants …   Black's law dictionary

  • descendant — or descendent Those persons who are in the blood stream of the ancestor. Term means those descended from another, persons who proceed from a body of another such as a child or grandchild, to the remotest degree; it is the opposite of ascendants …   Black's law dictionary

  • descendant — [dē sen′dənt, disen′dənt] adj. [ME descendaunt < OFr descendant < L descendens, prp. of descendere: see DESCEND] descending: also descendent n. 1. a person who is an offspring, however remote, of a certain ancestor, family, group, etc. 2.… …   English World dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”