- To be in the ascendant
- Ascendant As*cend"ant, n. [F. ascendant, L. ascendens; p. pr.
of ascendere.]
1. Ascent; height; elevation. [R.]
[1913 Webster]
Sciences that were then in their highest ascendant. --Temple. [1913 Webster]
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. [1913 Webster]
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. [1913 Webster]
3. Superiority, or commanding influence; ascendency; as, one man has the ascendant over another. [1913 Webster]
Chievres had acquired over the mind of the young monarch the ascendant not only of a tutor, but of a parent. --Robertson. [1913 Webster]
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. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.