descendant

Definitions

de- (down) + scend (climb) + -ant (one who) = 'the one at the bottom of the downward family line.' If descent is the line traced down from an ancestor, a descendant is the person standing on the lowest rung of it. By extension, a later product 'descended' from an earlier one (a modern language is a descendant of Latin).

Common Collocations

• 1.direct descendant直系后裔
• 2.lineal descendant嫡系后代
• 3.living descendants在世的后代
• 4.descendant of…的后裔/衍生物

Example Sentences

• 1.

  He is a direct descendant of the country's first president.

• 2.

  Their descendants still live in the same village today.

• 3.

  Modern French is a descendant of Latin.

Easily Confused

descendant vs ancestor — opposite ends of a family line. An ancestor comes earlier (a grandparent); a descendant comes later (a grandchild). You are your ancestors' descendant. Also note the spelling: -ant (noun, a descendant), not -ent.