as·cen·dant also as·cen·dent 
(ə-sĕndənt)
(ə-sĕndənt)adj.
1. Inclining or moving upward; ascending or rising.
2. Dominant in position or influence; superior.
n.
1. The position or state of being dominant or in control: a conservative policy currently in the ascendant.
2. In astrology, the point of the ecliptic or the sign of the zodiac that rises in the east at the time of a person's birth or other event.
3. An ancestor.