Sentence:  At her invitation he outlined for her the succeeding chapters with terse military accuracy ; and what she liked best and best understood was avoidance of that false modesty which <WSD>condescends</WSD>, turning technicality into pabulum. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To treat (someone) as though inferior; to be patronizing (toward someone); to talk down (to someone).