Descendant Meaning
/dɪˈsɛndənt/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjDescending; going down.
adjDescending from a biological ancestor.
Sentence Examples
I am a descendant of Israel's famous King David.
She was the youngest descendant of the king.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The royal ____ inherited the crown after the king abdicated unexpectedly.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I am a ____ of Israel's famous King David.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English dessendaunte, borrowed from Middle French, from Latin dēscendēns, present participle of descendere, from dē + scandere (“to climb, ascend”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Eagle descendant, or descending. See DESCENDANT, and Pl. 22, fig. 6. Eagle descendant, displayed. See Pl. 22, fig. 7. Eagle displayed, recursant. See DISPLAYED RECURSANT, and Pl. 22, […]"
— 1830, Thomas Robson (engraver.), The British herald, or Cabinet of armorial bearings of the nobility & gentry of Great Britain & Ireland, page 14:
"Azure, surmounting a cloud argent, an American eagle descendant, wings endorsed proper, between his beak four lightning streaks, […]"
— 1984, Charles A. Ravenstein, Air Force combat wings: lineage and honors histories 1947-1977, DIANE Publishing, →ISBN, page 259:
"Pitiable sportster, / To choose thy prey so humbly, to seduce / A beggar wench who hath not the high pride / Descendant still from kingly ancestors, / To keep her royal place."
— 1892, Arthur Dillon, Gods and Men, page 214:
"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, Reiner Lipp, editors, Comparative-Historical Linguistics, John Benjamins Publishing, →ISBN, page 479:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The royal ____ inherited the crown after the king abdicated unexpectedly.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I am a ____ of Israel's famous King David.