[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

descend \descend"\, v. i. imp.  p. p. descended; p. pr. 
   vb. n. descending. f. descendre, l. descendere,
   descensum; de- + scandere to climb. see scan.
   1. to pass from a higher to a lower place; to move downwards;
      to come or go down in any way, as by falling, flowing,
      walking, etc.; to plunge; to fall; to incline downward; --
      the opposite of ascend.
      1913 webster

            the rain descended, and the floods came. --matt.
                                                  vii. 25.
      1913 webster

            we will here descend to matters of later date.
                                                  --fuller.
      1913 webster

   2. to enter mentally; to retire. poetic
      1913 webster

            he with holiest meditations fed,
            into himself descended.               --milton.
      1913 webster

   3. to make an attack, or incursion, as if from a vantage
      ground; to come suddenly and with violence; -- with on or
      upon.
      1913 webster

            and on the suitors let thy wrath descend. --pope.
      1913 webster

   4. to come down to a lower, less fortunate, humbler, less
      virtuous, or worse, state or station; to lower or abase
      one's self; as, he descended from his high estate.
      1913 webster

   5. to pass from the more general or important to the
      particular or less important matters to be considered.
      1913 webster

   6. to come down, as from a source, original, or stock; to be
      derived; to proceed by generation or by transmission; to
      fall or pass by inheritance; as, the beggar may descend
      from a prince; a crown descends to the heir.
      1913 webster

   7. anat. to move toward the south, or to the southward.
      1913 webster

   8. mus. to fall in pitch; to pass from a higher to a lower
      tone.
      1913 webster
see also:
descended descending scan 

[2] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

descend \descend"\, v. t.
   to go down upon or along; to pass from a higher to a lower
   part of; as, they descended the river in boats; to descend a
   ladder.
   1913 webster

         but never tears his cheek descended.     --byron.
   1913 webster

[3] : WordNet (r) 2.0

descend
     v 1: move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way;
          "the temperature is going down"; "the barometer is
          falling"; "the curtain fell on the diva"; "her hand went
          up and then fell again" syn: fall, go down, come
          down ant: rise, ascend
     2: come from; be connected by a relationship of blood, for
        example; "she was descended from an old italian noble
        family"; "he comes from humble origins" syn: derive, come
     3: do something that one considers to be below one's dignity
        syn: condescend, deign
     4: come as if by falling; "night fell"; "silence fell" syn: fall,
         settle
see also:
fall go down come down rise ascend derive 
come condescend deign settle 

[4] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

143 moby thesaurus words for "descend":
   advance, alight, ascend, assault, attack, back, back up, bank,
   be shamed, budge, cant, careen, cascade, cataract, change,
   change hands, change ownership, change place, circle, climb,
   climb down, collapse, come down, come in, condescend, crash,
   crash-land, decline, degenerate, deign, derogate, descend on,
   devolve, dip, dip down, disimprove, disintegrate, ditch, down,
   downwind, drop, drop down, drop off, ebb, fall, fall away,
   fall down, fall into disrepute, fall off, flow, get down, get over,
   go, go around, go down, go downhill, go round, go sideways,
   go uphill, grade, gravitate, gyrate, head, incline,
   incur discredit, incur disesteem, incur disgrace, invade, keel,
   land, lead, lean, level off, light, list, lose altitude,
   lose caste, lose countenance, lose credit, lose face, lower,
   lower oneself, mount, move, move over, overshoot, pancake,
   parachute, pass on, pitch, plummet, plunge, point, pounce,
   pounce on, pounce upon, pour down, precipitate, progress, rain,
   rake, regress, retreat, retrograde, retrogress, rise, rot, rotate,
   run, settle, settle down, shelve, shift, sidle, sink, slant, slope,
   soar, spin, stir, stoop, stream, subside, succeed, swag, sway,
   swoop, swoop down on, swoop down upon, talk down, tend, tend to go,
   tilt, tip, touch down, travel, trend downward, uprise, upwind,
   vouchsafe, wane, whirl, worsen

Descend >> D Words
Descend, definition of term: Descend
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