ascendant : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: ascendant	by the DICT Development Group
3 results for ascendant
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
ascendant adj tending or directed upward; "rooted and ascendant strength like that of foliage"- John Ruskin Synonym(s): ascendant, ascendent, ascensive most powerful or important or influential; "the economically ascendant class"; "D-day is considered the dominating event of the war in Europe" Synonym(s): ascendant, ascendent, dominating n position or state of being dominant or in control; "that idea was in the ascendant" Synonym(s): ascendant, ascendent someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent) Synonym(s): ancestor, ascendant, ascendent, antecedent, root Antonym(s): descendant, descendent
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Ascendant \Ascend"ant\, n. [F. ascendant, L. ascendens; p. pr. of ascendere.] 1. Ascent; height; elevation. [R.] Sciences that were then in their highest ascendant. --Temple. 2. (Astrol.) The horoscope, or that degree of the ecliptic which rises above the horizon at the moment of one's birth; supposed to have a commanding influence on a person's life and fortune. Note: Hence the phrases {To be in the ascendant}, to have commanding power or influence, and {Lord of the ascendant}, one who has possession of such power or influence; as, to rule, for a while, lord of the ascendant. --Burke. 3. Superiority, or commanding influence; ascendency; as, one man has the ascendant* over another. Chievres had acquired over the mind of the young monarch the ascendant not only of a tutor, but of a parent. --Robertson. 4. An ancestor, or one who precedes in genealogy or degrees of kindred; a relative in the ascending line; a progenitor; -- opposed to {descendant}. --Ayliffe.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Ascendant \Ascend"ant\, Ascendent \Ascend"ent\, a. 1. Rising toward the zenith; above the horizon. The constellation . . . about that time ascendant. --Browne. 2. Rising; ascending. --Ruskin. 3. Superior; surpassing; ruling. An ascendant spirit over him. --South. The ascendant community obtained a surplus of wealth. --J. S. Mill. Without some power of persuading or confuting, of defending himself against accusations, . . . no man could possibly hold an ascendent position. --Grote.