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descender (n.)[descender 词源字典]: in typography, "part of a letter that extends below the body," 1802, agent noun from descend.[descender etymology, descender origin, 英语词源]
descension (n.): early 15c., from Old French descension, from Latin descensionem (nominative descensio) "a going down, descending," noun of action from descensus, past participle of descendere (see descend).
descent (n.): c. 1300, from Old French descente "descent, descendance, lineage," formed from descendre (see descend) on analogy of French nouns such as attente from attendre "to expect," vente "sale" from vendre "to sell," pente "slope" from pendre "to hang" (the etymological English word from Latin would be *descence).

Figurative use is from late 14c. Meaning "action of descending," also "a downward slope" is from 1590s. Meaning "act of descending from an ancestor" is from mid-14c. Evolutionary sense is from 1859 in Darwin, though there are uses which suggest essentially the same thing going back to 1630s.
deschooling (n.): 1970, coined by Austrian-born U.S. anarchist philosopher Ivan Illich (1926-2002) for "the transfer of education to non-institutional systems;" see de- + schooling.
describe (v.): early 13c., descriven, from Old French descrivre, descrire (13c.), from Latin describere "to write down, copy; sketch, represent" (see description). Reconstructed with Latin spelling 16c. Related: Describable; described, describes, describing.
description (n.): late 14c., from Old French description (12c.) and directly from Latin descriptionem (nominative descriptio) "representation, description, copy," noun of action from past participle stem of describere "write down, transcribe, copy, sketch," from de- "down" (see de-) + scribere "write" (see script (n.)).
descriptive (adj.): 1751, from Late Latin descriptivus, from descript-, past participle stem of describere (see description). Related: Descriptively; descriptiveness.
descry (v.1): "to see, discern," c. 1300, probably from Old French descrier "publish" (Modern French décrier), from Latin describere (see describe).
descry (v.2): "to proclaim," mid-14c., from Old French descrier, from des- (see dis-) + crier, from Latin quiritare (see cry (v.)).
desecrate (v.): 1670s, formed from de- "do the opposite of" (see de-) + stem of consecrate. Old French had dessacrer "to profane," and there is a similar formation in Italian; but Latin desecrare meant "to make holy," with de- in this case having a completive sense. Related: Desecrated; desecrating.
desecration (n.): 1717, noun of action from desecrate (v.).
desegregate (v.): 1948, back-formation from desegregation. Related: Desegregated; desegregating.
desegregation (n.): 1935, American English, from de- "do the opposite of" + segregation in the racial sense.
desensitize (v.): 1904; see de- "do the opposite of" + sensitize. Originally of photography development; psychological sense is first recorded 1935. Related: Desensitized; desensitizing.
desert (v.): "to leave one's duty," late 14c., from Old French deserter (12c.) "leave," literally "undo or sever connection," from Late Latin desertare, frequentative of Latin deserere "to abandon, to leave, forsake, give up, leave in the lurch," from de- "undo" (see de-) + serere "join together, put in a row" (see series). Military sense is first recorded 1640s. Related: Deserted; deserting.
desert (n.1): "wasteland," early 13c., from Old French desert (12c.) "desert, wilderness, wasteland; destruction, ruin," from Late Latin desertum (source of Italian diserto, Old Provençal dezert, Spanish desierto), literally "thing abandoned" (used in Vulgate to translate "wilderness"), noun use of neuter past participle of Latin deserere "forsake" (see desert (v.)).

Sense of "waterless, treeless region" was in Middle English and gradually became the main meaning. Commonly spelled desart in 18c., which is not etymological but at least avoids confusion with the other two senses of the word. Classical Latin indicated this idea with deserta, plural of desertus.
desert (n.2): "suitable reward or punishment" (now usually plural and with just), c. 1300, from Old French deserte, noun use of past participle of deservir "be worthy to have," ultimately from Latin deservire "serve well" (see deserve).
deserter (n.): 1630s, agent noun from desert (v.).
desertification (n.): 1973, from desert (n.1) + -fication. In French, désertisation is attested from 1968.
desertion (n.): 1590s, from Middle French désertion (early 15c.), from Late Latin desertionem (nominative desertio) "a forsaking, abandoning," noun of action from past participle stem of Latin deserere (see desert (v.)).