de·scent 
(dĭ-sĕnt)
(dĭ-sĕnt)n.
1. The act or an instance of descending: the slow descent of the scuba divers.
2.
a. A way down: fashioned a descent with an ice axe.
b. A downward incline or passage; a slope: watched the stones roll down the descent.
3. Hereditary derivation; lineage: a person of African descent.
4. The fact or process of being derived or developing from a source: a paper tracing the descent of the novel from old picaresque tales.
5. Law Transmission of property, especially real estate, to a hereditary heir by an intestate owner.
6. A lowering or decline, as in status or level: Her career went into a rapid descent after the charges of misconduct.
7. A sudden visit or attack; an onslaught: the descent of the marauders on the settlement.
[Middle English, from Old French descente, from descendre, to descend (on the model of rente, rent and rendre, to render); see DESCEND.]