Words / C1

di-SENT/dɪˈsent/

Descent is movement downwards, or a person’s family origin: a steep descent, of Irish descent. Ancestry is the family twin; descent (the climb down) is physical; decent is a cruel lookalike spelling (meaning respectable). A former chair in the family does not waive methods.

Meaning

Movement downwards; also a person’s family origin.

Examples

• “Descent from a former chair does not waive the embargo or the n.”
• “Ancestry is the family twin. Decline can be numerical. Decent (already in the dictionary) means respectable — different word. Stationery is branding. Sample size is a methods fact. Count the n; leave the family tree in the biography.”

Good to know

Downward move; also ancestry. Family twin: ancestry. Lookalike: decent (already in the dictionary). Lineage ≠ a methods waiver.

Near in meaning

ancestry

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