Ascends

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To rise or go up, to elevate in degree or amount, and to improve one's position or ranking in a structure or society
2. To climb or move to a higher place, to enhance in quality or strength, and to gain advancement in status or authority
3. To move or travel upward from a lower to a higher point ; to advance or be promoted to a higher position or status

Etymology: "Ascends" is the third-person singular form of "ascend," so the core story belongs to the verb itself. It arrived in Middle English as "ascenden," borrowed from Old French "ascendre," which came from Latin "ascendere," meaning "to climb up to." The Latin word was built from "ad," meaning "to," and "scandere," "to climb," so the verb has climbing at its heart. That climbing sense is the same one that gives "scan" its meaning of counting metrical feet, since "scandere" is the source of that word too. The shared ancestor has nothing to do with the similar-looking "accede," which only shares the common "ad-" prefix.

Synonyms: climbs, rises, mounts, elevates, uplifts

Antonyms: descends, falls, drops, decreases, lowers