different between lofty vs ascendant

English

Etymology

From Middle English lofty, lofti, lofte (“of high rank; noble; ornate”), equivalent to loft +? -y; see loft (“sky, firmament; upper room”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: l?ft?i, IPA^(key): /?l?fti/
• (General American) enPR: lôft?i, IPA^(key): /?l??fti/
• (cot–caught merger, Canada) enPR: l?ft?i, IPA^(key): /?l?fti/
• Rhymes: -?fti, -??fti

Adjective

lofty (comparative loftier, superlative loftiest)

1. high, tall, having great height or stature
   • 1885, Richard F. Burton, The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Night 551:

     When the night was half spent, I rose and walked on, till the day broke in all its beauty and the sun rose over the heads of the lofty hills and athwart the low gravelly plains.

2. idealistic, implying over-optimism

   a lofty goal

   • 2013, Delme Parfitt in Wales Online, Cardiff City 1 - 0 Swansea City: Steven Caulker heads Bluebirds to South Wales derby win (3 November 2013)

     A goal from Steven Caulker, just after the hour mark, was enough to hand victory to Malky Mackay's men, with Swansea falling some way short of the lofty standards they have set previously at this level.

3. extremely proud; arrogant; haughty
   • F. Harrison

     that lofty pity with which prosperous folk are apt to remember their grandfathers

Synonyms

• (having great height or stature): noble, honorable

Antonyms

• (having great height or stature): mean, ignoble
• (idealistic): familiar, vulgar

Related terms

• loft
• aloft

Translations

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French ascendant, from Latin ascendens.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??s?nd?nt/

Adjective

ascendant (comparative more ascendant, superlative most ascendant)

1. Rising, moving upward.
2. Surpassing or controlling.

   • An ascendant spirit above him.

   • 1848, John Stuart Mill, Principles of Political Economy

     The ascendant community obtained a surplus of wealth.

Translations

Noun

ascendant (plural ascendants)

1. Being in control; superiority, or commanding influence; ascendency.

   One man has the ascendant over another.

   • 1769, William Robertson, History of the Reign of the Emperor Charles V:

     Chievres had acquired over the mind of the young monarch the ascendant not only of a tutor, but of a parent.

2. An ancestor (antonym of descendant)

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Ayliffe to this entry?)

3. (usu. followed by to) A royal heir assuming (a place of power)

4. Ascent; height; elevation.
5. (astrology) 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.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Burke to this entry?)

Translations

Related terms

• ascend
• ascent
• ascendance
• ascendancy/ascendency
• ascending
• ascender

Anagrams

• adnascent

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin ascendens, ascendentem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.s??.d??/

Verb

ascendant

1. present participle of ascendre

Adjective

ascendant (feminine singular ascendante, masculine plural ascendants, feminine plural ascendantes)

1. ascendant

Derived terms

• compatibilité ascendante

Noun

ascendant m (plural ascendants)

1. (astrology) ascendant
2. supremacy, ascendancy

3. (genealogy) ancestor, forefather, progenitor

Further reading

• “ascendant” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Latin

Verb

ascendant

1. third-person plural present active subjunctive of ascend?