ascendants
|a-scend-ant|
/əˈsɛndənt/
(ascendant)
rising influence
Etymology
'ascendant' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'ascendere' (present participle 'ascendens'), where 'ad-' (assimilated to 'as-') meant 'to' and 'scandere' meant 'to climb'.
'ascendant' changed from Latin 'ascendens' into Old French 'ascendant' and entered Middle English (as 'ascendent'/'ascendant'), eventually becoming the modern English word 'ascendant'.
Initially, it meant 'rising' or 'climbing'; over time it evolved to include meanings such as 'one who rises', 'an ancestor', and 'a person or force gaining dominance'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
plural of 'ascendant': ancestors; persons from whom one is descended (forebears).
His ascendants emigrated from the islands in the 1800s.
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Noun 2
people who hold or are gaining dominant influence or power; those in ascendancy.
The young reformers became the ascendants in the movement.
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Last updated: 2025/10/26 01:25