# descender
## English
### Etymology

From descend +‎ -er (agent noun suffix).

### Pronunciation

* (UK) IPA: /dɪˈsɛndə(ɹ)/
* Audio (Southern England):(file)
* Rhymes: -ɛndə(ɹ)

### Noun

descender (plural descenders)
* A person or thing that descends.
    Coordinate term: ascender
* (typography) The part of a letter or number that is drawn below the baseline (the bottom of most lowercase letters).
    Synonym: tail
    Coordinate term: ascender
* (typography, uncommon) A letter that has such a portion, such as g, j, or in some fonts Q.
    Coordinate term: ascender
* (cycling) A cyclist who excels at fast descents.
* (climbing) A belay device used in rock climbing, or as a fire escape.

#### Translations
### Anagrams

* redescend

## Portuguese
### Alternative forms

* decender (obsolete)

### Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese decender, borrowed from Latin dēscendere. Compare descer, probably an inherited doublet.

### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /de.sẽˈde(ʁ)/ [de.sẽˈde(h)]
* (Brazil) IPA: /de.sẽˈde(ʁ)/ [de.sẽˈde(h)]
** (São Paulo) IPA: /de.sẽˈde(ɾ)/
** (Rio de Janeiro) IPA: /de.sẽˈde(ʁ)/ [de.sẽˈde(χ)]
** (Southern Brazil) IPA: /de.sẽˈde(ɻ)/
* (Portugal) IPA: (careful pronunciation) /dɨʃ.sẽˈdeɾ/, /dɨ.ʃẽˈdeɾ/
* (Portugal) IPA: (careful pronunciation) /dɨʃ.sẽˈdeɾ/, /dɨ.ʃẽˈdeɾ/
** (Southern Portugal) IPA: (careful pronunciation) /dɨʃ.sẽˈde.ɾi/, /dɨ.ʃẽˈde.ɾi/

### Verb

descender (first-person singular present descendo, first-person singular preterite descendi, past participle descendido)
* (intransitive) to descend (to pass from a higher to a lower place)
* (genealogy, with de) to descend (from) (to have as an ancestor)
* (etymology, with de) to descend (from) (to have as an etymon)

#### Synonyms

* (to go down): descer, baixar

#### Related terms

* ascender
* condescender
* descendente

## Spanish
### Etymology

Inherited from Old Spanish decender, decendir, borrowed from Latin dēscendere. Compare also the Old Spanish form deçir, which was likely inherited from the same source.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Spain) /desθenˈdeɾ/ [d̪es.θẽn̪ˈd̪eɾ]
* IPA: (Latin America, Philippines) /desenˈdeɾ/ [d̪e.sẽn̪ˈd̪eɾ]
* Audio (Colombia):(file)
* Rhymes: -eɾ
* Syllabification: des‧cen‧der

### Verb

descender (first-person singular present desciendo, first-person singular preterite descendí, past participle descendido)
* to descend

#### Conjugation

$^1$Mostly obsolete, now mainly used in legal language. $^2$Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tú form for the present subjunctive.
These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

#### Derived terms

* descendente
* descendiente
* descendimiento

#### Related terms

* ascender
* condescender
* descendencia
* descenso

### References

* ↑ Joan Coromines, José A[ntonio] Pascual (1983–1991) “descender”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico [Critic Castilian and Hispanic Etymological Dictionary] (in Spanish), Madrid: Gredos

### Further reading

* “descender”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10