An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
English-French-Persian

1) To go or pass from a higher to a lower place.
2) To be passed on by parents or ancestors; be inherited

M.E. descenden, "move or pass from a higher to a lower place," from O.Fr. descendre "descend, dismount; fall into; originate in," from Latin descendere "come down, descend, sink," from → de- "down" + scandere "to climb," from PIE root *skand- "to spring, leap, climb."

1) A person, animal, or plant that is descended from a specific individual, race, species, etc.
2) Something deriving in appearance, function, or general character from an earlier form.

→ descend.

The point in an → orbit where the orbiting body crosses a reference plane, such as the → ecliptic or the → celestial equator, going from north to south. → ascending node.

→ descend; → -ing; → node.