descent

n. 下降；血统；袭击

vt. 除去…的气味；使…失去香味

英文词源

descent (n.): c. 1300, from Old French descente "descent, descendance, lineage," formed from descendre (see descend) on analogy of French nouns such as attente from attendre "to expect," vente "sale" from vendre "to sell," pente "slope" from pendre "to hang" (the etymological English word from Latin would be *descence).

Figurative use is from late 14c. Meaning "action of descending," also "a downward slope" is from 1590s. Meaning "act of descending from an ancestor" is from mid-14c. Evolutionary sense is from 1859 in Darwin, though there are uses which suggest essentially the same thing going back to 1630s.

1. When entering a trail or starting a descent, yield to other skiers.: 进入滑雪道或开始下滑时，要给其他滑雪者让路。

3. The marriage was considered especially ignominious since she was of royal descent.: 由于她出身王族,这门婚事被认为是奇耻大辱.