Both Uses of
descend
in
The City of Ember
- They descended the long stone stairway, and when they came out into the main tunnel, Lina stood still, staring at the river.
p. 127.1descended = went down
- Lina's arms were just long enough to reach past Poppy and hold on to the ladder. She descended very slowly.
p. 233.3 *descended = climbed 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