Webster's English Dictionary

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descent

de.scent \di-'sent\ n [ME, fr. MF descente, fr. descendre] 1: the act or 
   process of descending from a higher to a lower level or state  2: a 
   downward step (as in station or value) : DECLINE  3a: derivation from an 
   ancestor : BIRTH, LINEAGE  3b: transmission or devolution of an estate by 
   inheritance usu. in the desc ending line 3c: the fact or process of 
   originating from an ancestral stock  3d: the shaping or development in 
   nature and character by transmission from  a source : DERIVATION 4a: an 
   inclination downward : SLOPE  4b: a descending way (as a downgrade or 
   stairway)  obs  4c: the lowest part  5a: a sudden disconcerting appearance  
   5b: a hostile raid or predatory assault  6: a step downward in a scale of 
   gradation; specif : one generation  in an ancestral line or genealogical 
   scale