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Glite Dictionary
👶 A later relative 🖥️ A lower element 🧬 Coming from ancestors
descendant

descendant

5.7
Coming from an ancestor, for example a language or trait that developed later
  • adjective
  • /dɪˈsɛndənt/
translation icon : derivado
  • The descendant language retained only a few features of its ancestor.

Examples

  • Geneticists are studying the descendant line of the population to track mutations.

  • This species has developed several descendant traits over generations.

  • The descendant of the ancient kings still lives in the same village.

  • Is she a descendant of the famous artist?

  • The descendant language retained only a few features of its ancestor.

  • Geneticists are studying the descendant line of the population to track mutations.

  • This species has developed several descendant traits over generations.

Synonyms

hereditary
vsdescendant
  • Formal
10 5.4

A right or title a family gives to their children by law

is about originating through ancestry rather than transmitting specific traits or titles
lineal
vsdescendant
1 8.0

Directly related to an ancestor

is broader, covering descent that need not follow a single direct line
descendent
vsdescendant
5.2

Coming from an ancestor or earlier family member

is the alternate orthographic form that shares the same descent meaning

How Related

child
  • Literature
428 8.5
descendant
5.7
grandchild
338 1.0
ancestor
419 2.4

Surface Forms

descendant positive

Morphology

descendant = descend (transparent) = descend + ant

The adjectival meaning 'derived by descent' follows directly from 'descend' plus the adjectival/agentive suffix '-ant', making the relation clear.

Etymology

The word descendant as an adjective also comes from Latin descendere, from de- 'down' and scendere 'to climb'. So if a language or species is 'descendant' it 'comes down' from an earlier one.