descendance

Descendance refers to the act of descending or the line of individuals who descend from a common ancestor. In genealogical and historical contexts, it denotes the set of living descendants of a person or family, as well as the transmission of traits, status, or property across generations. The term is often used interchangeably with descent or lineage, though it can emphasize the resulting descendants rather than the process of inheritance.

Etymology and usage: Descendance comes from the French descendance, from descendre “to descend,” ultimately tracing to Latin descendere. In English, the spelling descendance appears mainly in scholarly or historical writing, but descent or descendants is more common in contemporary usage.

Applications in social sciences: In anthropology and sociology, descendance is used to discuss kinship systems organized by descent rules. These include patrilineal, matrilineal, and bilateral descent, which shape membership in descent groups, inheritance practices, and social identity. It is distinct from ancestry, which refers to one’s forebears, whereas descendance focuses on the living or future generations connected to an ancestor.

Biological context: In biology and evolutionary biology, the concept of descent underpins lineage and phylogeny, such as descent with modification. However, the noun descendance is rarely used in modern English scientific writing, where descent, ancestry, or phylogenetic lineage are preferred terms.

See also: descent, lineage, ancestry, descendant, hereditary, kinship.