'ascender' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'ascendere', where 'ad-' (assimilated as 'as-') meant 'toward' and 'scandere' meant 'to climb'.

'ascender' developed from the verb 'ascend', which entered Middle English via Old French (cf. Old French 'ascendre') from Latin 'ascendere'; the agentive English suffix '-er' was later added to form 'ascender'.

Initially related to the verb meaning 'to climb', the term later acquired the noun sense 'one who climbs' and was specialized in typography to denote the upward-extending part of certain lowercase letters.