Descent

Descent is a term with several related but distinct meanings. It commonly denotes downward movement from a higher level to a lower one, as when a person descends a staircase or an aircraft descends toward land. It also refers to a person’s ancestry and lineage across generations. The word derives from Latin descensus, from descendere, meaning to go down.

Physical descent covers any downward movement, from daily activities such as descending stairs to planned approaches like the descent phase of flight, during which an aircraft reduces its altitude in a controlled manner.

In anthropology and genealogy, descent denotes ancestry. A person’s descent traces through a line of parents and ancestors. Societies use descent as a framework for kinship, inheritance, and social affiliation, often via patrilineal, matrilineal, or bilateral patterns.

In law, descent concerns the transfer of property after death. Descent rules determine heirs and the allocation of estates, whether through wills or according to statutory intestate succession. These rules vary by jurisdiction but share the aim of defining rightful successors by blood or familial ties.

In biology, descent is used to describe the transmission of traits from ancestors to descendants. The phrase descent with modification captures how lineages evolve, diverging over generations while preserving a genealogical connection.