Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Descendant
De-scend′ant
,Noun.
One who descends, as offspring, however remotely; – correlative to ancestor or ascendant.
Our first parents and their
descendants
. Hale.
The
descendant
of so many kings and emperors. Burke.
Webster 1828 Edition
Descendant
DESCENDANT
,Noun.
Definition 2024
descendant
descendant
English
Adjective
descendant (not comparable)
- descending from a biological ancestor.
- proceeding from a figurative ancestor or source.
Usage notes
The adjective may be spelled either with ant or ent as the final syllable (see descendent). The noun may be spelled only with ant.
Alternative forms
Antonyms
Related terms
Noun
descendant (plural descendants)
- (literally) One who is the progeny of a specified person, at any distance of time or through any number of generations.
- The patriarch survived many descendants: five children, a dozen grandchildren, even a great grandchild.
- (figuratively) A thing that derives directly from a given precursor or source.
- This famous medieval manuscript has many descendants.
- (biology) A later evolutionary type.
- Dogs evolved as descendants of early wolves.
- (linguistics) A language that is descended from another.
- English and Scots are the descendants of Old English.
- (linguistics) A word or form in one language that is descended from a counterpart in an ancestor language.
- 1993, Jens Elmegård Rasmussen, “The Slavic i-verbs with an excursus on the Indo-European ē-verbs”, in Bela Brogyanyi and Reiner Lipp (editors), Comparative-Historical Linguistics, John Benjamins Publishing, ISBN 978-90-272-3598-5, page 479:
- The direct descendant of this form is the Slavic aorist: Sb.-Cr. nȍsī, dȍnosī.
- 1993, Jens Elmegård Rasmussen, “The Slavic i-verbs with an excursus on the Indo-European ē-verbs”, in Bela Brogyanyi and Reiner Lipp (editors), Comparative-Historical Linguistics, John Benjamins Publishing, ISBN 978-90-272-3598-5, page 479:
Usage notes
The adjective may be spelled either with ant or ent as the final syllable (see descendent). The noun may be spelled only with ant.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Derived terms
- direct descendant
- indirect descendant
Translations
one who is the progeny of someone
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which derives directly from a given precursor or source
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a later evolutionary type
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See also
French
Etymology
From Latin dēscendēns, the present participle of descendere, itself from dē + scandere (“climb, ascend”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /de.sɑ̃.dɑ̃/
Verb
descendant
- present participle of descendre
Noun
descendant m (plural descendants, feminine descendante)
- A descendant; one who is the progeny of someone at any distance of time; e.g. a child; a grandchild, etc.
Antonyms
Adjective
descendant m (feminine singular descendante, masculine plural descendants, feminine plural descendantes)
- (which is) descending.