descentes

Descentes is the plural form of the French noun descente, meaning descent or the act of going downward. The term is used across various contexts to indicate movement from a higher to a lower position, a downward slope, or a route that follows an elevation drop. In geography and civil engineering it can describe the descent of terrain, roads, or waterways, such as a steep descent along a valley road or the fall in elevation along a river course. In sports and outdoor activities, descente denotes a downward movement or segment, for example the downhill component in alpine skiing is called la descente.

In mountaineering and ropework, une descente refers to lowering oneself along a rope, a process often described in English as rappelling. The plural form permet la descente de plusieurs sections or routes, depending on the context. The term thus spans both technical procedures and descriptive passages in terrain or sport.

Etymologically, descente derives from Latin descensus, and the plural form descentes follows regular French feminine noun pluralization. The word has cognates in other Romance languages, but their exact meanings and spellings vary by language. In French, a related but distinct word is descendance, which denotes lineage or descendants rather than a movement or slope.

Descentes should be distinguished from related but different terms such as descente in genealogy or from descendants in English; the latter refers to people descended from ancestors, whereas descentes (plural) refers to downward movements or routes. The usage is predominantly francophone, with occasional cross-linguistic cognates in technical or descriptive texts.