descendant:

(also ‘descendent’; plural: ‘descendants‘; pronunciation: ‘scen’ in this word is said with ‘sen’ sound; the opposite word in meaning: ‘ancestor‘, ‘forefather’, ‘forebear‘, and the less common opposite word in meaning: ‘ascendant’)

‘to descend’ = to move from a higher position or place to a lower one; to go or come down; to pass from a previous person or thing, and ‘descent’ the noun form = the act of coming or going down

descendants (from Gambia) of Kunta Kinteh, the 18th century slave, made popular by the TV serial ‘Roots’, (for Kunta’s picture go to “forebear”)

a person or any other living being that belongs to a particular family or race, and has come down, e.g. from grandfather to father and father to son, and so on;

a person, especially an artist, who follows closely the methods and style of an earlier expert or master;

a disciple,

descendants of Sally Hemmings, a slave believed to be the mistress of Thomas Jefferson and borne him some children

e.g.

Man is considered to be the descendant of a type of monkey.

There are two types of descendants: a lineal descendant, also called ‘direct descendant, is a blood relation of a person, such as children, born or adopted, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and so on of a person; and a collateral descendant, also called ‘indirect descendant’, is a relation, a close relative, but not a blood relation of a person, such as children of a person’s brother or sister — a cousin, niece, nephew, etc. However, some experts argue that there is no such relation as ‘indirect descendant’ because brothers, sisters, uncles and aunts are responsible for one’s birth!

It has become possible these days with the help of the Internet facility to find one’s descendants who may have lost contacts with their ancestors, usually because of wars or natural disasters. (For an informative article on the benefits of using the internet websites to find one’s descendants, please click here.)

For an article that gives us some sensible argument regarding ‘indirect descendant’, please click here, For an interesting (rather confusing for non-computer buffs) article that shows us how this word is used in the computer world, please click here & click here.
Note: ‘Descendant’ is also used for non-living things, such as a type of object that has developed from another of the same existing before it, having same shape, function, general characters, etc., e.g. Our native language is a descendant of Inca language.
Return to “forebear“.

About the Author:BC Kumar

BC Kumar, an English Language Teacher, taught in numerous countries including Ethiopia, Oman and India, shares his knowledge and passion for the English Language. Disclaimer: This is a free educational website and all content has been compiled by the author. All copyrights to images and videos belong to their respective owners.

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