noun

descent

di-SENT/dɪˈsent/

Movement downward from a higher point or earlier source.

The woman makes her descent toward the lower landing.

An older woman descends a short outdoor staircase, facing the lower landing with her leading foot reaching the next lower tread and her trailing foot still on the higher step.

Etymology

Old French descente covered both coming down and lineage. English first used it for ancestry, then extended it to the physical act of passing from a higher place to a lower one.

In context

Ron Walker (Talisman Mountaineering)43:39

Abseil line of descent. This really would have been an awful place to start trying to get down

'Beckoning Silence' Joe Simpson (Channel 4)

More examples

The plane begins its descent through the clouds.
The novel follows a politician's descent into corruption.
He traces his descent through his mother's family.

Forms

descent · descents

descend verb — To move from higher to lower.

descendant noun — A person related to an earlier ancestor.

Similar words

fall: Often suggests sudden, uncontrolled movement rather than a gradual descent.
decline: Emphasizes worsening quality, strength, or condition rather than physical movement.
ancestry: Names family origins without suggesting downward movement or worsening conditions.