Descend
/dɪˈsɛnd/noun
To move or fall downward; to come down from a higher place, rank, or position.
Did you know?Its Latin ancestor, *descendere*, combines *de-* (“down”) + *scandere* (“to climb”), the same root behind *ascend*—so English kept the drama of going up and coming down in one family of words.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*skand-
“to climb, leap”
Latin
Latin
scandere
“to climb”
Latin
Latin
descendere
“to climb down, descend”
Old French
Old French
descendre
“to come down, descend”
Middle English
English
descenden
“to come down, descend”
Modern English
English
descend
“to move or fall downward”