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Ascendant
Definitions
- 1 Moving upward; ascending, rising.
"[A]ll true and frutefull Natvrall Philosophie, hath A double Scale or Ladder, Aſcendent and Deſcendent, aſcending from experiments to the Inuention of cauſes; and deſcending from cauſes, to the Inuention of nevve experiments; Therefore I iudge it moſt requiſite, that theſe tvvo parts be ſeuerally conſidered and handled."
- 2 Controlling, dominant, surpassing. figuratively
"In some cases the conquering state contented itself with imposing a tribute on the vanquished: who, being, in consideration of that burthen, freed from the expense and trouble of their own military and naval protection, might enjoy under it a considerable share of economical prosperity, while the ascendant community obtained a surplus of wealth, available for purposes of collective luxury or magnificence."
- 3 In an eastern direction rising just above the horizon.
"This Phœbus promis'd, I forget the Year, / VVhen thoſe blue eyes firſt open'd on the Sphere; / Aſcendant Phœbus vvatch'd that hour vvith care, / Averted half your Parents ſimple Pray'r, / And gave you Beauty, but deny'd the Pelf / That buys your Sex a Tyrant o'er itſelf: […]"
- 4 Rising towards the zenith.
"[W]e muſt diſcover freezing ſtars that may reſolve the latter colds of vvinter, vvhich vvho ever deſires to invent, let him ſtudie the ſtarres of Andromeda, or the nearer conſtellation of Pegaſus, vvhich are about that time aſcendant."
- 5 Of a part of an organism: synonym of ascending (“leading or sloping upwards”).
"Artere ſouſclaviere. The aſcendant branch of the great Arterie."
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- 6 Synonym of ascending (“of or pertaining to one's ancestors”). archaic, obsolete
- 1 most powerful or important or influential wordnet
- 2 tending or directed upward wordnet
- 1 The degree of the zodiac or point of the ecliptic which rises in an eastern direction above the horizon at a particular moment (especially the moment of a person's birth), which is supposed to have a commanding influence on a person's fortune and life; a horoscope. also, figuratively
"[T]hey ſay that Jeſus in his natiuitie, had for his aſcendent, the ſigne of Virgo in her firſt face, as they terme it, […]"
- 2 someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent) wordnet
- 3 Chiefly in in the ascendant: an act of ascending or rising. broadly
"Towards the end of the session of 1836, the hopes of the Conservative party were again in the ascendant."
- 4 position or state of being dominant or in control wordnet
- 5 Synonym of ascendancy (“commanding influence; dominant control; superiority, supremacy”). broadly, figuratively
"One man has the ascendant over another."
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- 6 An ancestor. broadly
"The Eſtate and Inheritance of a Perſon dying Inteſtate is, by Right of Devolution, according to the Civil-Lavv, given to ſuch as are ally'd to him ex Latere, commonly ſtiled Collaterals, if there be no Aſcendants or Deſcendants ſurviving at the time of his Death."
- 7 A person who ascends or goes up; specifically (usually followed by to), a person who ascends to a throne or assumes some other position of power. broadly, obsolete
"Given his father’s ghastly demise, one would not expect such glee from the ascendant to his throne."
- 8 Something which is higher than the things around it; a peak, a summit; specifically (typography), synonym of ascender (“the portion of a lowercase letter that extends above the midline”). broadly, obsolete
- 9 Something which leads or slopes upwards, such as a flight of stairs or an upward incline. broadly, obsolete
"[T]here can be no reaſon yeilded neither in nature, nor in relation, vvherefore, if it have lavvfully mounted thus high, it ſhould not be a Lordly aſcendent in the horoſcope of the Church, from Primate to Patriarch, and ſo to Pope."
- 10 A person who supports a policy of ecclesiastical or national supremacy. broadly, obsolete, rare
"Indeed, my dear Sir, there is not a single particular in the Francis-street declamations, which has not, to your and to my certain knowledge, been taught by the jealous ascendants, sometimes by doctrine, sometimes by example, always by provocation."
Etymology
PIE word *h₂éd The adjective is derived from Late Middle English ascendent (“ascending, rising; increasing in quantity; (astronomy) rising above the horizon”) [and other forms], borrowed from Old French ascendant, from Latin ascendentem, the accusative singular of ascendēns (“ascending, rising”), the present participle of ascendō, adscendō (“to climb up, go up, move upwards; to rise; to spring up”), from ad- (prefix meaning ‘(up) to’) + scandō (“to ascend, climb, mount; to clamber”) (from Proto-Indo-European *skend- (“to climb, scale; to dart; to jump; to scan (poetry)”)). The English word is analysable as ascend (verb) + -ant (suffix forming adjectives from verbs with the sense of ‘doing [the verbal actions]’). The noun is probably derived from the adjective, though it is attested earlier than the latter.
PIE word *h₂éd The adjective is derived from Late Middle English ascendent (“ascending, rising; increasing in quantity; (astronomy) rising above the horizon”) [and other forms], borrowed from Old French ascendant, from Latin ascendentem, the accusative singular of ascendēns (“ascending, rising”), the present participle of ascendō, adscendō (“to climb up, go up, move upwards; to rise; to spring up”), from ad- (prefix meaning ‘(up) to’) + scandō (“to ascend, climb, mount; to clamber”) (from Proto-Indo-European *skend- (“to climb, scale; to dart; to jump; to scan (poetry)”)). The English word is analysable as ascend (verb) + -ant (suffix forming adjectives from verbs with the sense of ‘doing [the verbal actions]’). The noun is probably derived from the adjective, though it is attested earlier than the latter.
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