descendre
French
Etymology
From Middle French descendre, from Old French descendre, borrowed from Latin descendō, descendere.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /de.sɑ̃dʁ/
audio (file) - Rhymes: -ɑ̃dr
Verb
descendre
- (intransitive) to go down
- (intransitive, transitive) to descend
- (transitive) to put down; disparage
- (transitive, slang) to kill (someone)
- (intransitive) to stay (in a hotel or other temporary lodging)
Usage notes
- This verb uses the auxiliary verb avoir when used transitively (or with a transitive sense, even when the complement is omitted); otherwise (when it is intransitive), it uses être.
- elle a descendu les valises ― she brought down the suitcases
- il est descendu de l'armoire ― he came down from the wardrobe
Conjugation
Conjugation of descendre (see also Appendix:French verbs)
| infinitive | simple | descendre | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| compound | avoir or être + past participle | ||||||
| present participle or gerund1 | simple | descendant /de.sɑ̃.dɑ̃/ | |||||
| compound | ayant or étant + past participle | ||||||
| past participle | descendu /de.sɑ̃.dy/ | ||||||
| singular | plural | ||||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | je (j’) | tu | il, elle, on | nous | vous | ils, elles | |
| (simple tenses) | present | descends /de.sɑ̃/ | descends /de.sɑ̃/ | descend /de.sɑ̃/ | descendons /de.sɑ̃.dɔ̃/ | descendez /de.sɑ̃.de/ | descendent /de.sɑ̃d/ |
| imperfect | descendais /de.sɑ̃.dɛ/ | descendais /de.sɑ̃.dɛ/ | descendait /de.sɑ̃.dɛ/ | descendions /de.sɑ̃.djɔ̃/ | descendiez /de.sɑ̃.dje/ | descendaient /de.sɑ̃.dɛ/ | |
| past historic2 | descendis /de.sɑ̃.di/ | descendis /de.sɑ̃.di/ | descendit /de.sɑ̃.di/ | descendîmes /de.sɑ̃.dim/ | descendîtes /de.sɑ̃.dit/ | descendirent /de.sɑ̃.diʁ/ | |
| future | descendrai /de.sɑ̃.dʁe/ | descendras /de.sɑ̃.dʁa/ | descendra /de.sɑ̃.dʁa/ | descendrons /de.sɑ̃.dʁɔ̃/ | descendrez /de.sɑ̃.dʁe/ | descendront /de.sɑ̃.dʁɔ̃/ | |
| conditional | descendrais /de.sɑ̃.dʁɛ/ | descendrais /de.sɑ̃.dʁɛ/ | descendrait /de.sɑ̃.dʁɛ/ | descendrions /de.sɑ̃.dʁi.jɔ̃/ | descendriez /de.sɑ̃.dʁi.je/ | descendraient /de.sɑ̃.dʁɛ/ | |
| (compound tenses) | present perfect | present indicative of avoir or être + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | imperfect indicative of avoir or être + past participle | ||||||
| past anterior2 | past historic of avoir or être + past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | future of avoir or être + past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | conditional of avoir or être + past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que je (j’) | que tu | qu’il, qu’elle | que nous | que vous | qu’ils, qu’elles | |
| (simple tenses) | present | descende /de.sɑ̃d/ | descendes /de.sɑ̃d/ | descende /de.sɑ̃d/ | descendions /de.sɑ̃.djɔ̃/ | descendiez /de.sɑ̃.dje/ | descendent /de.sɑ̃d/ |
| imperfect2 | descendisse /de.sɑ̃.dis/ | descendisses /de.sɑ̃.dis/ | descendît /de.sɑ̃.di/ | descendissions /de.sɑ̃.di.sjɔ̃/ | descendissiez /de.sɑ̃.di.sje/ | descendissent /de.sɑ̃.dis/ | |
| (compound tenses) | past | present subjunctive of avoir or être + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect2 | imperfect subjunctive of avoir or être + past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | – | – | ||||
| simple | — | descends /de.sɑ̃/ | — | descendons /de.sɑ̃.dɔ̃/ | descendez /de.sɑ̃.de/ | — | |
| compound | — | simple imperative of avoir or être + past participle | — | simple imperative of avoir or être + past participle | simple imperative of avoir or être + past participle | — | |
| 1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en. | |||||||
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way:
(Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81). | |||||||
Related terms
- descendance
- descendant
- descendeur
- descente
- redescendre
Further reading
- “descendre”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams
- redescend
Middle French
Etymology
From Old French descendre.
Verb
descendre
- to dismount (get down from a horse, etc.)
Descendants
- French: descendre
Occitan
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Verb
descendre
- to descend; to go down
- Synonym: davalar
Related terms
- descenta
References
- Diccionari General de la Lenga Occitana, L’Academia occitana – Consistòri del Gai Saber, 2008-2016, page 189.
Old French
Etymology
From Latin descendō, descendere.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /desˈt͡sen.drə/, (later) /desˈt͡san.drə/
Verb
descendre
- to go down; to descend
- to dismount (get down from a horse, etc.)
- circa 1250, Marie de France, Guigemar
- Son seignur veit, a pié descent
- He sees his master, and goes down to him on foot
- Son seignur veit, a pié descent
- circa 1250, Marie de France, Guigemar
Conjugation
This verb conjugates as a third-group verb. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.
Conjugation of descendre (see also Appendix:Old French verbs)
| simple | compound | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| infinitive | descendre | avoir descendu | |||||
| gerund | en descendant | Use the gerund of avoir followed by the past participle | |||||
| present participle | descendant | ||||||
| past participle | descendu | ||||||
| person | singular | plural | |||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | jo | tu | il | nos | vos | il | |
| simple tenses | present | descent | descenz | descent | descendons | descendez | descendent |
| imperfect | descendoie, descendeie | descendoies, descendeies | descendoit, descendeit | descendiiens, descendiens | descendiiez, descendiez | descendoient, descendeient | |
| preterite | descendi | descendis | descendié | descendimes | descendistes | descendierent | |
| future | descendrai | descendras | descendra | descendrons | descendroiz, descendreiz, descendrez | descendront | |
| conditional | descendroie, descendreie | descendroies, descendreies | descendroit, descendreit | descendriiens, descendriens | descendriiez, descendriez | descendroient, descendreient | |
| compound tenses | present perfect | Use the present tense of avoir followed by the past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | Use the imperfect tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| past anterior | Use the preterite tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | Use the future tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | Use the conditional tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que jo | que tu | qu’il | que nos | que vos | qu’il | |
| simple tenses | present | descende | descendes | descende | descendons | descendez | descendent |
| imperfect | descendisse | descendisses | descendist | descendissons, descendissiens | descendissoiz, descendissez, descendissiez | descendissent | |
| compound tenses | past | Use the present subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | Use the imperfect subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | tu | – | nos | vos | – | |
| — | descent | — | descendons | descendez | — | ||
Descendants
- Middle French: descendre
- French: descendre
- Jersey Norman: d'scendre
- → Middle English: descenden
- English: descend
References
- descendre on the Anglo-Norman On-Line Hub