dē-scendo, di, sum, 3 (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.).
I Lit.
A 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 ( Luc. ), 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.—
B In partic.
1 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; id. Verr. 2, 2, 38; Liv. 2, 54; Sen. Ben. 3, 27 al. —
b Transf.: in causam, Cic. Phil. 8, 2; Liv. 36, 7; Tac. H. 3, 3: in partes, id. A. 15, 50. —
c Of land, etc., to sink, fall, slope : regio, Val. Fl. 1, 538.—
d Of forests whose wood is brought to the plain, Stat. Ach. 2, 115: Caucasus, Val. Fl. 7, 55.—
e Of water conveyed in pipes, to fall : subeat descendatque, Plin. 31, 6, 31, § 57; cf. of the sea: non magis descenderet aequor, Luc. 5, 338.—
2 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,
b Transf.: in aciem, to go into battle, to engage , Liv. 8, 8; 23, 29; Front. Strat. 1, 11, 11 al.: in proelium, id. ib. 2, 1, 10; Just. 21, 2, 5: in certamen, Cic. Tusc. 2, 26: ad pugnam, ad tales pugnas, Val. Fl. 3, 518; Juv. 7, 173; Front. Strat. 2, 1, 11; 2, 5, 41; and even, in bellum, Just. 15, 4, 21; 38, 8, 1; cf.: in belli periculum, id. 15, 1, 2.—
3 In medic. lang., of the excrements: to pass off, pass through , Cels. 2, 4 fin. : olera, id. 1, 6: alvus, id. 2, 7.—
4 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. —
5 In an obscene sense, Cat. 112, 2; Juv. 11, 163.—
II Trop.
A 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.—
B In partic.
1 (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.—
2 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. id. 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.—
3 (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.: dē-scendens , entis, m. and f., a descendant; plur. descendentes, posterity , Dig. 23, 2, 68. —
4 (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.