Table of Contents
Definition of Descendant
(noun) An individual descended from a particular individual (ancestor) or group.
Examples of Descendant
- Malia and Sasha are the descendants of Michelle and Barack Obama.
- You are a descendant of your father and grandfather unless your culture uses matrilineal descent, in that instance you are a descendant of your mother and grandmother but not your father or grandfather.
Descendant Pronunciation
Syllabification: de·scen·dant
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /di-sEn-duhnt/
- British English – /di-sEn-duhnt/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /dəˈsɛnd(ə)nt/
- British English – /dᵻˈsɛnd(ə)nt/
Usage Notes
- Plural: descendants
- A group of people descended from a common ancestor (e.g., individual, animal, mythical being, or plant) is a clan.
- Variant spelling: descendent
- A (noun) descender (verb) descends from ancestors and is their descendant.
Additional Information
Related Terms
- clan
- descent group
- endogamy
- exogamy
- generation
- kinship
- lineage
- moiety
- nonunilineal descent
- unilineal descent
Cite the Definition of Descendant
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “descendant.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 19, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/descendant/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
descendant. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/descendant/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “descendant.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 19, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/descendant/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“descendant.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/descendant/>.