Meaning of descendant in English | Powered by Free Dictionary API

noun

• One who is the progeny of a specified person, at any distance of time or through any number of generations.

  Example: The patriarch survived many descendants: five children, a dozen grandchildren, even a great grandchild.

• A thing that derives directly from a given precursor or source.

  Example: This famous medieval manuscript has many descendants.

• A later evolutionary type.

  Example: Dogs evolved as descendants of early wolves.

• A language that is descended from another.

  Example: English and Scots are the descendants of Old English.

• A word or form in one language that is descended from a counterpart in an ancestor language.

adjective

• Descending from a biological ancestor.

• Proceeding from a figurative ancestor or source.