descendência

Descendència is a Catalan noun that denotes the descendants of a person or group, and more broadly, the idea of descent from an ancestor. It can refer to the living line of offspring as well as the ongoing process by which generations follow one another. In everyday use it often corresponds to the English terms “descendants” or “lineage,” and it also appears in legal and formal contexts to indicate lines of succession or inheritance.

Etymology and sense have roots in the notion of descending from ancestors. The word comes from Latin and developed through the Romance language family into Catalan as descendència. The form itself emphasizes the result or collective set of people who descend from a common progenitor, rather than a single descendant.

Uses and contexts: descendència is common in genealogical research, anthropology, and sociology to describe family lineage and identity. In legal settings, it may pertain to the line of heirs or the succession rights associated with property, titles, or familial obligations. Culturally, it underlines the importance of family continuity and ancestral connections in many Catalan-speaking communities.

Related concepts include ascendència (ancestry), linatge (lineage), arbre genealògic (genealogical tree), and herència (inheritance). While descendència focuses on those who descend from an ancestor, ascendència emphasizes the ancestors themselves; linatge and arbre genealògic describe the structure of the family line as a whole.

See also: Arbre genealògic, genealogia, ascendència, linatge, herència.