All 5 Uses of
descend
in
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
- With something like panic Kit watched Goodwife Gruff descend the ladder and stride ahead of her husband along the wharf.
p. 26.8 *descend = climb down
- This was the second time this morning that her uncle's wrath had descended on her head.
p. 51.4descended = come down (arrived suddenly)
- A man stepped menacingly from the corner brandishing a long pole, and Kit winced as two sharp raps descended on each luckless head.
p. 54.4descended = came down
- A smart crackle of blows, a few agonized howls, and silence and order descended suddenly on the room.
p. 88.7 *descended = came
- William's heavy hand descended on his shoulder.
p. 143.3descended = came down
Definitions:
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(1)
(descend as in: descend the mountain) move or slope downward
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(2)
(descend as in: in descending order) move down a scale -- as from larger numbers to smaller, or higher notes to lower
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(3)
(descend as in: descend from royalty) figuratively, to have come down a path from the past; i.e., to originate or come from -- such as in reference to ancestors or evolutionary origins
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(4)
(descend as in: descend into poverty) figuratively, to move downward to a worse or less prestigious situation
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(5)
(descend as in: descend into deeper thought) to move from a higher level of abstraction downward to a lower one (from more general to more specific); or to move from superficial to deeper thought
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(6)
(descend as in: thieves descended upon us) to come or arrive -- especially suddenly or from above or as an attack