Defn: Pertaining to descension. Johnson.
DESCENSIVE
De*scen"sive, a.
Defn: Tending to descend; tending downwards; descending. Smart.
DESCENSORY
De*scen"so*ry, n. Etym: [NL. descensorium: cf. OF. descensoire. See
Descend.]
Defn: A vessel used in alchemy to extract oils.
DESCENT De*scent", n. Etym: [F. descente, fr. descendre; like vente, from vendre. See Descend.]
1. The act of descending, or passing downward; change of place from higher to lower.
2. Incursion; sudden attack; especially, hostile invasion from sea; - - often followed by upon or on; as, to make a descent upon the enemy. The United Provinces . . . ordered public prayer to God, when they feared that the French and English fleets would make a descent upon their coasts. Jortin.
3. Progress downward, as in station, virtue, as in station, virtue, and the like, from a higher to a lower state, from a higher to a lower state, from the more to the less important, from the better to the worse, etc.
2. Derivation, as from an ancestor; procedure by generation; lineage; birth; extraction. Dryden.