declivity means the downward slope of a curve. It carries an Arena rating of 1506, earned across 2 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, declivity ranks #1,292 of 17,058 for Most Ingenious Words, #2,471 of 17,052 for Most Exacting Words, #2,733 of 17,052 for The Improbable, #2,819 of 17,052 for Most Ponderous Words.
declivity is pronounced /dɪˈklɪvɪti/.
Why “declivity” is a great word
A downward slope or inclination, as of a hill or surface. From Latin dēclīvitās, from dēclīvis ("sloping downward"), from dē- ("down") + clīvus ("slope, hill"), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱley- ("to lean"). First attested in English in the 1610s. Unlike acclivity, which specifically ascends, or the neutral generality of an incline, a declivity commits wholly to the descent. It is the slump of a worn footpath, the gentle lean of mossed stone steps, or the slow, unresisted pull of dry leaves sliding toward a storm drain—the earth's patient reminder that descent requires no effort, only permission.
Etymology
1610s, from French déclivité, from Latin declivitatem, dēclīvitās,
from dēclivis (“a sloping downward”), from de (“down”) + clīvus (“a slope”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱleywo-, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱley- (“to lean”) (English lean).
noun
- The downward slope of a curve.
- A downward bend in a path.
- An inward curve of the exoskeleton of an insect, such as between body segments; a segment of an insect's body where the exoskeleton curves inward.
Words closest in meaning
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