c. 1300, from Old French descente "descent, descendance, lineage," formed from descendre (see descend) on analogy of French nouns such as attente from attendre "to expect," vente "sale" from vendre "to sell," pente "slope" from pendre "to hang" (the etymological English word from Latin would be *descence).
Figurative use is from late 14c. Meaning "action of descending," also "a downward slope" is from 1590s. Meaning "act of descending from an ancestor" is from mid-14c. Evolutionary sense is from 1859 in Darwin, though there are uses which suggest essentially the same thing going back to 1630s.
双语例句
1. When entering a trail or starting a descent, yield to other skiers.
进入滑雪道或开始下滑时，要给其他滑雪者让路。
来自柯林斯例句
2. The plane began its descent to Heathrow.
飞机开始向希思罗机场降落。
来自《权威词典》
3. The marriage was considered especially ignominious since she was of royal descent.
由于她出身王族,这门婚事被认为是奇耻大辱.
来自《简明英汉词典》
4. We watched anxiously during her descent from the tree.
我们焦急地看着她从树上爬下来.
来自《简明英汉词典》
5. The descent of the mountain took nearly two hours.
