they descended the river in boats to descend a ladder
1667, John Milton, “Book X”, in Paradise Lost.[…], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker[…]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter[…]; [a]nd Matthias Walker,[…], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books:[…], London: Basil Montagu Pickering[…], 1873, →OCLC, line 1497:
[I]f, after deſcending a flight of ſtairs, vve attempt inadvertently to take another ſtep in the manner of the former ones, the ſhock is extreamly rude and diſagreeable; and by no art, can vve cauſe ſuch a ſhock by the ſame means, vvhen vve expect and prepare for it.
a.1677 (date written), Matthew Hale, “Concerning Vegetables, and Especially Insecta Animalia; whether any of Them are Sponte Orta, or Arise Not rather Ex Præexistente Semine”, in The Primitive Origination of Mankind, Considered and Examined According to the Light of Nature, London: […] William Godbid, for William Shrowsbery,[…], published 1677, →OCLC, section III, page 267:
[T]he common Devv exhaled from ſome ſorts of Herbs or VVeeds, but eſpecially from the common Graſs, carries vvith it the Seminal Tincture of the Herb, vvhich being again deſcended by Devvs or Rain upon the bare and naked Earth, re-produceth the ſame Species: […]
1528 September 24 (Gregorian calendar), J[ohn] S[herren] Brewer, compiler, “[A Commission of Sewers for the Marches of Calais, […] Dated Hampton Court, 14 Sept. 20 Hen. VIII.]”, in Letters and papers, Foreign and Domestic, of the Reign of Henry VIII.[…], volume IV, part II, London: Longman & Co., and Trübner & Co.,[…], published 1872, →OCLC, paragraph 5102 (Calais), page 2232:
And there is another watergang, called Haile Fayers watergang, 4 miles long and 16 feet broad, which descendeth by a spoye of stone at Hofkirk bridge into the said great river, which must always be cast at the tenants' cost.
So God and man is one Chriſte. / Who ſuffered for oure ſaluacion: deſcended into hell, roſe agayne the third daye from the dead. / He aſcended into heauen, he ſytteth on the right hand of the father, God almighty: from whence he ſhall come to iudge the quicke and dead.
[…]Noe [i.e., Noah] vvith his familie comming out of the arke vpon the top of the mount Cordicus, deſcended into the plaine at the foote of the mountaine filled vvith dead bodies (vvhich is called Miri Adam, vvhich is as much as the place of bovvelled men) […]
Dark Clouds bring VVaters, vvhen the bright bring none / Yea, dark or bright, if they their Silver drops / Cause to deſcend, the Earth, by yielding crops, / Gives praiſe to both, and carpeth not at either, / But treaſures up the Fruit they yield together: […]
But this I knovv, ſhould Jupiter agen / Deſcend from heaven, to re-converſe vvith men; / The Romane Language full and ſuperfine, / If Iove vvo'd ſpeake, he vvo'd accept of thine.
The air was cold, and the rain again began to descend: we entered the hut, the fiend with an air of exultation, I with a heavy heart and depressed spirits.
O stream descending to the sea, / Thy mossy banks between, / The flow'rets blow, the grasses grow, / The leafy trees are green. // In garden plots the children play, / The fields the labourers till, / And houses stand on either hand, / And thou descendest still.
And they accosted the sheykh Abu-r-Ruweysh and said to him, O our sheykh, Bahrám practised a strategem to effect his ascent to the top of the mountain, and how did he descend, and what wonders did he see upon the mountain? The sheykh Abu-r-Ruweysh therefore said, O Ḥasan, tell them how thou descendedst, and acquaint them with the wonders that thou sawest.
1844, Alexander Watson, “Whit Sunday. [A Prayer for Whitsuntide.]”, in The Churchman’s Sunday Evenings at Home, volume II, London: W. J. Cleaver,[…]; Rugeley, Staffordshire: J. T. Walters, →OCLC, page 163:
Let that mighty rushing wind, in which aforetime Thou descendedst, purge away the chaff of our carnal affections, and with a holy violence beat down our strongholds of sin, and all the proud imaginations that resist Thy grace.
As it is, the miner is one of the most overworked and deplorably underpaid men in the country. […] I know very well that if your supply of coal depended on my walking several miles to a pithead, descending in a cage for half a mile, walking again to the dwindling tunnel where I had to work, then slogging away for about seven hours in that hell, all for something like two pounds a week, your grates would be empty.
Rudy felt a gust of fear rise in his chest, and he looked again in the mirror, but the hangar and stable were now beyond the rise, out of sight, he was descending so fast.
(astronomy) Of a celestial body: to move away from the zenith towards the horizon; to sink; also, to move towards the south.
1667, John Milton, “Book IV”, in Paradise Lost.[…], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker[…]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter[…]; [a]nd Matthias Walker,[…], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books:[…], London: Basil Montagu Pickering[…], 1873, →OCLC, lines 540–543:
[T]he ſetting Sun / Slowly deſcended, and with right aſpect / Againſt the eaſtern Gate of Paradiſe / Leveld his eevning Rayes: […]
The moon had reached her summit in the heavens and was beginning to descend; the clouds swept across it swifter than the flight of the vulture and dimmed her rays, while the lake reflected the scene of the busy heavens, rendered still busier by the restless waves that were beginning to rise.
a.1836 (date written), James Hogg, Flodden Field; republished in Robert Murray, “James Hogg”, in Hawick Songs and Song Writers, 3rd edition, Hawick, Roxburghshire: W. & J. Kennedy, 1897, →OCLC, page 31:
Sol, with broaden'd orb, descending, / Left fierce warriors still contending, / Brilliant Vesper shed her glances, / Ere they sheathed their blood-stained lances.
Their ſails they loos'd, they laſh'd the maſt aſide, / And caſt their anchors, and the cables ty'd: / Then on the breezy ſhore deſcending, join / In grateful banquet o'er the roſy vvine.
About ten o'clock a horse and wagon was descried making a slow approach to the camp over the prairie. […] When the conveyance at length drew up to Mr. Thompson's door, the gentleman descended with great deliberation, straightened himself up, rubbed his hands, and beaming satisfaction from every part of his radiant frame, advanced to the group that was gathered to welcome him, and which had saluted him by name as soon as he came within hearing.
Hear, Goddeſs, hear, by thoſe oblations vvon; / And for the pious fire preſerve the ſon: / His vviſh'd return vvith happy povv'r befriend, / And on the Suitors let thy vvrath deſcend.
And she managed to keep the good news to herself, though it would seem that the most careless observer might have seen by her springing step and her radiant countenance that some fine piece of good fortune had descended upon her.
[A]ll the tall chimneys in it [a photograph]—and I can count twenty-five—are smoking furiously, belching out thick dark clouds that look as if they will descend on the ugly conglomeration of roofs below. That is what it must have looked like throughout all the great days of the industry.
1655, Thomas Fuller, “The Re-foundation of Waltham-Abby by Henry the Second”, in The History of Waltham-Abby in Essex, Founded by King Harold, London: [[…] Iohn Williams[…]], →OCLC, page 11:
But this ſubject begins to ſvvell beyond the bounds intended unto it, leſt therefore vvhat vve intended but a Tract ſhould ſvvell to a Tome, vve vvill here deſcend to matters of later date.
1759 August 25, [Samuel Johnson], “The Idler. No. 72.”, in The Universal Chronicle, or Weekly Gazette, volume II, number 73, London: […] R. Stevens,[…], →OCLC, page 1, column 3:
He imagined that he had novv purchaſed the privilege of diſcourſe and began to deſcend to familiar queſtions, endeavouring to accommodate his diſcourſe to the groſſneſs of ruſtick underſtandings.
I suffer at times from damp snivelling colds in the head, which descend upon me quite suddenly, turning me into a helpless and disgusting red-nosed and red-eyed animal feebly crying for still more handkerchiefs.
2013, Alfred Grossmith Mason, Julie Grossmith Deltrice, Arctic Warriors: A Personal Account of Convoy PQ18[1], Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen & Sword Maritime, Pen & Sword Books, →ISBN:
[T]he low growl of engines coming from high above the cloud cover, alerts us to the fact that there are many more aircraft descending on us than had done during previous visits from the snoopers in their usual ones and twos.
1608, Jos[eph] Hall, “Of the Truly-noble”, in Characters of Vertues and Vices:[…], London: […] Melch[isidec] Bradwood for Eleazar Edgar and Samuel Macham,[…], →OCLC, 1st book (Characterismes of Vertues), page 54:
[I]f (as ſeldome) he deſcend to diſports of chance, his games ſhall neuer make him either pale vvith feare, or hote vvith deſire of gaine.
1667, John Milton, “Book VIII”, in Paradise Lost.[…], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker[…]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter[…]; [a]nd Matthias Walker,[…], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books:[…], London: Basil Montagu Pickering[…], 1873, →OCLC, lines 168–171:
But what will not Ambition and Revenge / Deſcend to? vvho aſpires muſt down as low / As high he ſoard, obnoxious firſt or laſt / To baſeſt things.
1752 March 28, Samuel Johnson, “No. 208. [Tuesday], March 17. 1752 [Julian calendar].”, in The Rambler, volume VIII, Edinburgh: […] Sands, Murray, and Cochran; sold by W. Gordon, C. Wright, J. Yair,[…], published 1752, →OCLC, page 171:
If I have not been diſtinguiſhed by the diſtributers of literary honours, I have ſeldom deſcended to any of the arts by vvhich favour is obtained.
But that a shrewd statesman, whose earliest works are characterised by manliness of thought and language, should, at near sixty years of age, descend to such puerility, is utterly inconceivable.
1653, James Howell, “The Oration of the Lord George Frederique, Baron of Limburg, and Hereditary Officer to the Sacred Roman Empire, and Allwayes Free. Against Spain.”, in A German Diet: Or, The Ballance of Europe,[…], London: […]Humphrey Moseley,[…], →OCLC, page 26:
VVhen I deſcend into my ſelf, and contemplat my moſt terrible horrible terribility, I can hardly hold my ſelf vvithin my ſelf; […]
1715, George Cheyne, “Of the Use of the Arithmetick of Infinites. Corollary I.”, in Philosophical Principles of Religion: Natural and Revealed:[…] Philosophical Principles of Religion. Part II.[…], London: […]George Strahan[…], →OCLC, page 162:
Indefinite numbers I ſuppoſe to be intermediate Numbers lying betvveen finite and infinite: For as vve do not deſcend from 1 to 0 at one Step, but muſt paſs through an infinite Series of Fractions, ½, ⅓, ¼, 1⁄5, &c.
(music) To pass from a higher to a lower note or tone; to fall in pitch.
Senses relating to passing down from a source to another thing.
1713 December 19 (Gregorian calendar), Richard Steele, “December 8. [1713].”, in The Englishman: Being the Sequel of the Guardian, collected edition, number 28, London: […] Sam[uel] Buckley[…], published 1714, →OCLC, page 182:
[T]he eternal Mark of having had a vvicked Anceſtor deſcends to his Poſterity; his VVife is deprived of her Dovvry, and all his Deſcendants are made ignoble: […]
The Rebels are in Southvvarke: Fly my Lord: / Iacke Cade proclaimes himſelfe Lord Mortimer, / Deſcended from the Duke of Clarence houſe, / And calles your Grace Vſurper, openly, / And vovves to Crovvne himſelfe in VVeſtminſter.
Thou ſhould'ſt haue better pleas'd me vvith this deede, / Hadſt thou deſcended from another houſe: […]
1616, Charles Steuens [i.e., Charles Estienne], John Liebault [i.e., Jean Liébault]; Gervase Markham, “[Of Hunting or Chasing of the Stag.] What Dogs are Best for the Course or Hunting.”, in Richard Surflet, transl., Maison Rustique, or, The Countrey Farme.[…], new edition, London: […] Adam Jslip for John Bill, →OCLC, book VII (The Warren), page 674:
[I]f a dog be not vvel deſcended, that is to ſay, begot by an excellent dog, or an excellent bitch, there can be little hope of his goodneſſe.
The humble petition of WHO and WHICH, […] We are descended of ancient families, and kept up our dignity and honour many years till the jack-sprat THAT supplanted us.
An hero, deſcended from a race of Kings, muſt have deſpiſed the baſe Iſaurian vvho vvas inveſted vvith the Roman purple, vvithout any endovvments of mind or body, vvithout any advantages of royal birth, or ſuperior qualifications.
They came over to Massachusetts Bay in another vessel, and thus escaped the onus of that brevet nobility under which the successors of the Mayflower Pilgrims had descended.
Didn't you know? I am descended in the female line from the Court de Lauria who came over to England in the suite of Philip the Second and married a maid of honour of Queen Mary.
[I]f the Tenant giue a part of the Tenancie to the father of the Lord in Taile, the father dieth, and this deſcends to the Lord, in this caſe by Act in Law the Seigniorie is ſuſpended in part and in eſſe for part, and the ſame Law is of a Rent charge.
As to eleemoſynary corporations, by the dotation the founder and his heirs are of common right the legal viſitors, to ſee that that property is rightly employed, vvhich vvould otherwiſe have deſcended to the viſitor himſelf: […]
The possession of the sacred fire and of the ancestral sticks, carrying with it both political authority and priestly dignity, descends in the male line, and hence generally passes from father to son.
Macedonian: please add this translation if you can
of a body part: to move downwards, especially during development of the embryo; specifically, of the testes of a mammal: to move downwards from the abdominal cavity into the scrotum
Macedonian: please add this translation if you can
in speech or writing: to proceed from one matter to another; to pass from more general or important to specific or less important matters to be considered
1607, Gervase Markham, “Of a Horses Labour or Exercise, and how He shall be Ordered when He is Iourneyed”, in Cauelarice, or The English Horseman:[…], London: […] [Edward Allde and W[illiam] Jaggard] for Edward White,[…], →OCLC, 5th book, page 33:
[I]t ſhall be good if in your iourney you come to the deſcend of anye great Hil, to light from your Horſes backe, and to vvalke dovvne the hill a foote, […]