An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

1. To go or pass from a higher to a lower place.
   

   2. To be passed on by parents or ancestors; be inherited

Etymology (EN): 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.”