Declivity refers to a downward slope or a downward inclination, deriving from the Latin word 'clivus' meaning slope. It is contrasted with 'acclivity,' an upward slope.
Declivity refers to a downward slope or a downward inclination, deriving from the Latin word 'clivus' meaning slope. It is contrasted with 'acclivity,' an upward slope.
| Word | declivity |
|---|---|
| Date | July 16, 2018 |
| Type | noun |
| Syllables | dih-KLIV-uh-tee |
| Etymology | Three different English words descend from clivus, the Latin word for "slope" or "hill"—with the help of three Latin prefixes. Declivity combines clivus with the prefix de-, meaning "down" or "away." Acclivity uses ad- (which changes its second letter depending on the root word), meaning "to" or "toward." Hence, an acclivity is an upward slope. The third word has a figurative meaning in English: proclivity makes use of the prefix pro-, meaning "forward," and this word refers to a personal inclination, predisposition, or "leaning." |
| Examples | "Early afternoon finds me off-trail by mistake among fog banks, using both hands and feet to scramble sideways and skyward along a perilously steep, grassy declivity toward the pass of Les Mattes." — Jeffrey Tayler, The National Geographic Traveler, 1 June 2017 "We make straight for the swimming pool, set in a warm declivity and surrounded by orange-trees." — Alex Preston, Harper's, October 2016 |
| Definition | 1 : downward inclination 2 : a descending slope |
Tags: wordoftheday::noun
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