dē-scendo | dē-scendens, entis (noun M.f) : (
* Perf. redupl.: descendidit, Valer. Antias ap. Gell. 7, 4 fin.; and, descendiderant, Laber. ib.; perf.: desciderunt, Inscr. Frat. Arv. 13 Henzen.), v. n., to come down; and of inanimate subjects, to fall, sink down, to descend, opp. to ascendo (class. and freq.).
* Lit.
* In gen.: ex equo,to alight,Cic. de Sen. 10, 34; Auct. B. Hisp. 15, 2; for which, equo,Sall. Hist. Fragm. 5, 13: sicut monte descenderat,id. J. 50, 2: e curru,Suet. Tib. 20: e tribunali,id. Claud. 15: de rostris,Cic. Vatin. 11: de templo,Liv. 44, 45: de caelo,id. 6, 18; for which, caelo,Hor. Od. 3, 4, 1: e caelo,Juv. 11, 27: caelo ab alto,Verg. A. 8, 423; cf.: vertice montis ab alto,id. ib. 7, 675; and: ab Histro (Da cus),id. G. 2, 497: ab Alpibus,Liv. 21, 32, 2; 27, 38, 6: monte,Verg. A. 4, 159: aggeribus Alpinis atque arce Monoeci,id. ib. 6, 831: antro Castalio,Ov. M. 3, 14: per clivum,id. F. 1, 263 et saep.—Indicating the terminus ad quem: in mare de caelo,Lucr. 6, 427: Juppiter in terras,id. 6, 402: in pon tum,Sil. 1, 607; 15, 152; cf.: caelo in hibernas undas,Verg. G. 4, 235: caelo ad suos honores templaque, etc.,Ov. F. 5, 551: in aestum,Lucr. 6, 402: in inferiorem ambulationem,Cic. Tusc. 4: in campos,Liv. 6, 737; cf. Curt. 9, 9: in Piraeum,Quint. 8, 6, 64 et saep.: ad naviculas,Cic. Ac. 2, 48 fin.: ad genitorem imas Erebi descendit ad umbras,Verg. A. 6, 404: sinus vestis infra genua,Curt. 6, 5 et saep. Poet. also with dat.: nocti, i. e. ad inferos,Sil. 13, 708; cf. Erebo,id. 13, 759.—With sup.: per quod oraculo utentes sciscitatum deos descendunt,Liv. 45, 27, 8.—Absol.: turbo descendit,Lucr. 6, 438; cf. Verg. E. 7, 60: asta ut descendam (sc. ex equo),dismount, alight,Plaut. As. 3, 3, 120; Suet. Galb. 18: descendens (sc. e lecto),Tib. 1, 5, 41: descendo (sc. de arce),Verg. A. 2, 632: umbrae descendentes (sc. ad inferos),Stat. S. 5, 5, 41.—Poet.: trepidi quoties nos descendentis arenae vidimus in partes, i. e. that seemed to sink as the wild beasts rose from the vaults, Calp. Ecl. 7, 69.
* Trop.
* To go down, to go, to come, sc. from the dwelling-houses (which in Rome were mostly situated on eminences) to the forum, the comitia, etc.: in forum descendens, Crass. ap. Cic. de Or. 2, 66, 267; so, ad forum, Cic. Fragm. ap. Non. 538, 26; Q. Cic. Petit. cons. 14; Valer. Antias ap. Gell. 7, 9 fin.; Liv. 24, 7; 34, 1; cf.: fuge, quo descendere gestis,Hor. Ep. 1, 20, 5; Orell. ad loc.: ad comitia,Suet. Caes. 13 al.: de palatio et aedibus suis,Cic. Rosc. Am. 46.—Absol.: hodie non descendit Antonius,Cic. Phil. 2, 6, 15; Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 38; Liv. 2, 54; Sen. Ben. 3, 27 al.
* Transf.: in causam,Cic. Phil. 8, 2; Liv. 36, 7; Tac. H. 3, 3: in partes,id. A. 15, 50.
* In milit. lang., to march down, sc. from an eminence into the plain: ex superioribus locis in planitiem,Caes. B. C. 3, 98; cf. id. ib. 3, 65, 2: qua (sc. de monte),Sall. J. 50, 3: inde (sc. de arce),Liv. 32, 32; cf. id. 7, 29: in aequum locum,Caes. B. G. 7, 53, 2; for which, in aequum,Liv. 1, 12: in campum omnibus copiis,id. 23, 29: in plana,Front. Strat. 2, 5, 18: ad Alexandriam,Liv. 45, 12 et saep.—Absol., Liv. 44, 5; Front. Strat. 3, 17, 9: ad laevam,Sall. J. 55 al.—With supine: praedatum in agros Romanos,Liv. 3, 10, 4; 10, 31, 2.—Hence
* Of forests whose wood is brought to the plain, Stat. Ach. 2, 115: Caucasus,Val. Fl. 7, 55.
* In medic. lang., of the excrements: to pass off, pass through, Cels. 2, 4 fin.: olera,id. 1, 6: alvus,id. 2, 7.
* Pregn., to sink down, penetrate into any thing (freq. only after the Aug. per.; not in Cic. and Caes.): ferrum in corpus,Liv. 1, 41; cf. Sil. 16, 544: toto descendit in ilia ferro,Ov. M. 3, 67: (harundo) in caput,Luc. 6, 216; cf.: in jugulos gladiis descendebant (hostes),Flor. 3, 10, 13: ense in jugulos,Claud. B. Get. 601: in terram (fulmen),Plin. 2, 55, 56, § 146: in rimam calamus,id. 17, 14, 24, § 102: subjacens soli duritia non patitur in altum descendere (radices), lapathi radix ad tria cubita,Plin. 19, 6, 31, § 98 et saep.: toto corpore pestis,Verg. A. 5, 683: galeas vetant descendere cristae,to sink down,Stat. Th. 9, 262.
* In an obscene sense, Catull. 112, 2; Juv. 11, 163.
* In gen. (esp. freq. in Quint.), to descend, etc.: a vita pastorali ad agriculturam,Varr. R. R. 2, 1, 3 sq.; cf.: ad aliquem,Just. 1, 4, 1: usus in nostram aetatem descendit,Quint. 1, 11, 18: (vox) attollitur concitatis affectibus, compositis descendit,id. 11, 3, 65; cf. id. 9, 4, 92: grammatici omnes in hanc descendent rerum tenuitatem,id. 1, 4, 7 et saep.: in omnia familiaritatis officia,Plin. Pan. 85, 5.—Pass. impers.: eo contemptionis descensum, ut, etc.,Tac. A. 15, 1 et saep.: si quid tamen olim Scripseris, in Maeci descendat judicis aures,Hor. A. P. 387: si descendere ad ipsum Ordine perpetuo quaeris sunt hujus origo Ilus et Assaracus, etc.,Ov. M. 11, 754.
* In partic.
* (Acc. to no. I. A. 4.) To sink deep into, to penetrate deeply: quod verbum in pectus Jugurthae altius, quam quisquam ratus erat, descendit,Sall. J. 11, 7; cf.: ut altius injuriae quam merita descendant,Sen. Ben. 1, 1 med.; id. Contr. 1 praef.; Spart. Ant. Get. 6: cura in animos Patrum,Liv. 3, 52; cf.: qui (metus deorum) cum descendere ad animos ... non posset,id. 1, 19: nemo in sese tentat descendere,to examine himself,Pers. 4, 23.
* To lower one's self, descend to an act or employment, etc.; to yield, agree to any act, esp. to one which is unpleasant or wrong (freq. in Cic. and Caes.; cf. Orell. ad Cic. Cael. 2, and Fabri ad Liv. 23, 14, 3).—Constr. with ad, very rarely with in or absol.: senes ad ludum adolescentium descendant,Cic. Rep. 1, 43; cf. id. de Or. 2, 6: ad calamitatum societates,id. Lael. 17, 64: sua voluntate sapientem descendere ad rationes civitatis non solere,id. Rep. 1, 6 al.: ad ejusmodi consilium,Caes. B. G. 5, 29, 5: ad innocentium supplicia,id. ib. 6, 16 fin.: ad vim atque ad arma,id. ib. 7, 33: ad gravissimas verborum contumelias,id. B. C. 3, 83: ad accusandum, ad inimicitias,Cic. Mur. 27, 56; id. Sest. 41, 89; cf. id. Div. in Caecil. 1: ad extrema, Pollio ap. Cic. Fam. 10, 33, 4: ad frontis urbanae praemia,Hor. Ep. 1, 9, 11: preces in omnes,Verg. A. 5, 782: videte, quo descendam, judices,Cic. Font. 1, 2; cf. Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 38; Caes. B. C. 1, 81, 5: ad intellectum audientis,Quint. 1, 2, 27: ad minutissima opera,id. 1, 12, 14; 4, 2, 15: placet mihi ista defensio; descendo,I acquiesce,id. ib. 2, 2, 72.
* (Mostly ante-Aug.) To descend or proceed from any person or thing: ex gradu ascendentium vel descendentium uxorem ducere,Dig. 23, 2, 68 et saep.: quod genus liberalitatis ex jure gentium descendit,ib. 43, 26, 1; cf. ib. 18, 1, 57 fin.: a Platone,Plin. 22, 24, 51, § 111; Lampr. Alex. Sev. 43.—Hence, subst.: , , m. and f., a descendant; plur. descendentes, posterity, Dig. 23, 2, 68.
* (In Quint.) To depart, deviate, differ from: tantum ab eo defluebat, quantum ille (sc. Seneca) ab antiquis descenderat,Quint. 10, 1, 126; id. 3, 5, 8.!*? The passive is very rare, Plin. 2, 16, 13, § 71; Prud. Apoth. 1075.

s. TLL