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⬇️ Moving downward 📉 A decline 🕊️ A sacred coming down
descension

descension

9.9
A religious coming down of a god or spirit
  • noun
  • /dɪˈsɛnʃən/
  • Literature
translation icon : descenso
  • The priest spoke of the descension of the Holy Spirit during the ceremony.

Examples

  • The choir sang hymns about the descension of divine grace upon the congregation.

  • In the ancient myth, the descension of the goddess brought peace to the land.

  • The descension of the deity was celebrated with great reverence.

  • Many believe in the descension of spirits during rituals.

  • The priest spoke of the descension of the Holy Spirit during the ceremony.

  • In the ancient myth, the descension of the goddess brought peace to the land.

  • The choir sang hymns about the descension of divine grace upon the congregation.

Antonyms

ascension
18 7.5

A movement upwards to a higher position, for example climbing or getting a promotion at work

Surface Forms

descension singular
descensions plural

Morphology

descension = descend (semi-transparent) = descend + sion

Built from 'descend' with '-sion' and retains the literal idea of 'coming down', but the usage in formal or religious contexts is a specialized sense.

Etymology

Descension comes from the same root as descend and descent, from Latin de- 'down' and scendere 'to go'. In religious use the image is simple: something holy 'comes down' from above, so descension means a god, spirit, or grace coming to people.