Part 2988

<h1>Descending</h1> <Xpage=396>

<hw>De*scend"ing</hw>, <tt>a.</tt> <def>Of or pertaining to descent; moving downwards.</def>

<cs><mcol><col>Descending constellations</col> &or; <col>signs</col></mcol> <fld>(Astron.)</fld>, <cd>those through which the planets descent toward the south.</cd> -- <col>Descending node</col> <fld>(Astron.)</fld>, <cd>that point in a planet's orbit where it intersects the ecliptic in passing southward.</cd> -- <col>Descending series</col> <fld>(Math.)</fld>, <cd>a series in which each term is numerically smaller than the preceding one; also, a series arranged according to descending powers of a quantity.</cd></cs>

<h1>Descendingly</h1> <Xpage=396>

<hw>De*scend"ing*ly</hw>, <tt>adv.</tt> <def>In a descending manner.</def>

<h1>Descension</h1> <Xpage=396>

<hw>De*scen"sion</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>n.</tt> <ety>[OF. <ets>descension</ets>, L. <ets>descensio</ets>. See <er>Descent</er>.]</ety> <def>The act of going downward; descent; falling or sinking; declension; degradation.</def>

<cs><col>Oblique descension</col> <fld>(Astron.)</fld>, <cd>the degree or arc of the equator which descends, with a celestial object, below the horizon of an oblique sphere.</cd> -- <col>Right descension</col>, <cd>the degree or arc of the equator which descends below the horizon of a right sphere at the same time with the object. <mark>[Obs.]</mark></cd></cs>

<hr> <page="397"> Page 397<p>

<h1>Descensional</h1> <Xpage=397>

<hw>De*scen"sion*al</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>a.</tt> <def>Pertaining to descension.</def>

<i>Johnson.</i>

<h1>Descensive</h1> <Xpage=397>

<hw>De*scen"sive</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>a.</tt> <def>Tending to descend; tending downwards; descending.</def>

<i>Smart.</i>

<h1>Descensory</h1> <Xpage=397>

<hw>De*scen"so*ry</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>n.</tt> <ety>[NL. <ets>descensorium</ets>: cf. OF. <ets>descensoire</ets>. See <er>Descend</er>.]</ety> <def>A vessel used in alchemy to extract oils.</def>

<h1>Descent</h1> <Xpage=397>

<hw>De*scent"</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>n.</tt> <ety>[F. <ets>descente</ets>, fr. <ets>descendre</ets>; like <ets>vente</ets>, from <ets>vendre</ets>. See <er>Descend</er>.]</ety>

<p><b>1.</b> <def>The act of descending, or passing downward; change of place from higher to lower.</def>

<p><b>2.</b> <def>Incursion; sudden attack; especially, hostile invasion from sea; -- often followed by <i>upon</i> or <i>on</i>; <as>as, to make a <ex>descent</ex> upon the enemy</as>.</def>

<blockquote>The United Provinces . . . ordered public prayer to God, when they feared that the French and English fleets would make a <b>descent</b> upon their coasts. <i>Jortin.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>3.</b> <def>Progress downward, as in station, virtue, as in station, virtue, and the like, from a higher to a lower state, from a higher to a lower state, from the more to the less important, from the better to the worse, etc.</def>

<p><b>2.</b> <def>Derivation, as from an ancestor; procedure by generation; lineage; birth; extraction.</def>

<i>Dryden.</i>

<p><b>5.</b> <fld>(Law)</fld> <def>Transmission of an estate by inheritance, usually, but not necessarily, in the descending line; title to inherit an estate by reason of consanguinity.</def>

<i>Abbott.</i>

<p><b>6.</b> <def>Inclination downward; a descending way; inclined or sloping surface; declivity; slope; <as>as, a steep <ex>descent</ex></as>.</def>