As·cend·ant n.
 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.
 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.

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