descendo

Latin

Etymology

From dē- +‎ scandō.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /deːsˈken.doː/, [d̪eːs̠ˈkɛn̪d̪oː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /deʃˈʃen.do/, [d̪eʃˈʃɛn̪d̪o]

Verb

dēscendō (present infinitive dēscendere, perfect active dēscendī, supine dēscēnsum); third conjugation

1. to climb down, to go or come down, to descend

   Synonym: dēcurrō

   Antonyms: ascendō, īnscendō, cōnscendō, escendō, ēnītor, scandō, superscandō, subeō, ērēpō

   • 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Virgil, Aeneid 4.490–491:

     “[...] mūgīre vidēbis / sub pedibus terram, et dēscendere montibus ornōs.”

     “[The magic of the enchantress:] You’ll see: [she’ll cause] the earth to rumble under your feet, and ash trees to come down from the mountains.”

2. to march down
3. to pierce, to penetrate
4. to slope down (said of mountains)
5. to sink (said of the voice)
6. to lower oneself, to stoop

Conjugation

Conjugation of dēscendō (third conjugation)
indicative		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	dēscendō	dēscendis	dēscendit	dēscendimus	dēscenditis	dēscendunt
	imperfect	dēscendēbam	dēscendēbās	dēscendēbat	dēscendēbāmus	dēscendēbātis	dēscendēbant
	future	dēscendam	dēscendēs	dēscendet	dēscendēmus	dēscendētis	dēscendent
	perfect	dēscendī	dēscendistī	dēscendit	dēscendimus	dēscendistis	dēscendērunt, dēscendēre
	pluperfect	dēscenderam	dēscenderās	dēscenderat	dēscenderāmus	dēscenderātis	dēscenderant
	future perfect	dēscenderō	dēscenderis	dēscenderit	dēscenderimus	dēscenderitis	dēscenderint
passive	present	dēscendor	dēscenderis, dēscendere	dēscenditur	dēscendimur	dēscendiminī	dēscenduntur
	imperfect	dēscendēbar	dēscendēbāris, dēscendēbāre	dēscendēbātur	dēscendēbāmur	dēscendēbāminī	dēscendēbantur
	future	dēscendar	dēscendēris, dēscendēre	dēscendētur	dēscendēmur	dēscendēminī	dēscendentur
	perfect	dēscēnsus + present active indicative of sum
	pluperfect	dēscēnsus + imperfect active indicative of sum
	future perfect	dēscēnsus + future active indicative of sum
subjunctive		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	dēscendam	dēscendās	dēscendat	dēscendāmus	dēscendātis	dēscendant
	imperfect	dēscenderem	dēscenderēs	dēscenderet	dēscenderēmus	dēscenderētis	dēscenderent
	perfect	dēscenderim	dēscenderīs	dēscenderit	dēscenderīmus	dēscenderītis	dēscenderint
	pluperfect	dēscendissem	dēscendissēs	dēscendisset	dēscendissēmus	dēscendissētis	dēscendissent
passive	present	dēscendar	dēscendāris, dēscendāre	dēscendātur	dēscendāmur	dēscendāminī	dēscendantur
	imperfect	dēscenderer	dēscenderēris, dēscenderēre	dēscenderētur	dēscenderēmur	dēscenderēminī	dēscenderentur
	perfect	dēscēnsus + present active subjunctive of sum
	pluperfect	dēscēnsus + imperfect active subjunctive of sum
imperative		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	—	dēscende	—	—	dēscendite	—
	future	—	dēscenditō	dēscenditō	—	dēscenditōte	dēscenduntō
passive	present	—	dēscendere	—	—	dēscendiminī	—
	future	—	dēscenditor	dēscenditor	—	—	dēscenduntor
non-finite forms		active			passive
		present	perfect	future	present	perfect	future
infinitives		dēscendere	dēscendisse	dēscēnsūrum esse	dēscendī	dēscēnsum esse	dēscēnsum īrī
participles		dēscendēns	—	dēscēnsūrus	—	dēscēnsus	dēscendendus, dēscendundus
verbal nouns		gerund				supine
		genitive	dative	accusative	ablative	accusative	ablative
		dēscendendī	dēscendendō	dēscendendum	dēscendendō	dēscēnsum	dēscēnsū

Related terms

• ascendō
• condēscendō

Descendants

• Dalmatian: dessendro
• Esperanto: descendi
• Italian: discendere, scendere
• Old French: descendre
  • Middle French: descendre
    • French: descendre
  • Jersey Norman: d'scendre
  • → Middle English: descenden
    • English: descend
• Old Occitan: deissendre
• >? Old Galician-Portuguese: decer, deçer
  • Galician: decer
  • Portuguese: descer
• >? Old Spanish: deçir
• Piedmontese: dissende
• Romanian: deștinge
• Sicilian: scìnniri
• Venetan: desénder
• → Proto-Brythonic: *diskɨnnɨd (see there for further descendants)
• → Catalan: descendir
• → Occitan: descénder
• → Old Galician-Portuguese: decender
  • Portuguese: descender
• → Romanian: descinde
• → Spanish: descender

References

• “descendo”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “descendo”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• descendo in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to dismount: descendere ex equo
    
  • to be reduced to one's last resource: ad extremum auxilium descendere
    
  • to consent to..., lend oneself to..: descendere ad aliquid, ad omnia (vid. sect. V. 9, note Similarly descendere...)
    
  • to have recourse to extreme measures: descendere ad extrema consilia (Fam. 10. 33. 4)
    
  • what he said made a deep impression on..: hoc verbum alte descendit in pectus alicuius
    
  • to descend to the world below: ad inferos descendere
    
  • to have recourse to force of arms: ad vim et arma descendere (vid. sect. V. 9, note Similarly...)
    
  • to engage in the fight: in certamen descendere
    
  • to enter the field of battle: in aciem descendere (Liv. 8. 8)
    

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /deˈsẽ.du/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /deˈsẽ.du/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /deˈsẽ.do/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): (careful pronunciation) /dɨʃˈsẽ.du/, /dɨˈʃẽ.du/

Verb

descendo

1. gerund of descer

Verb

descendo

1. first-person singular present indicative of descender