LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
verbthird conjugation

ascendō

ascendō (present infinitive ascendere, perfect active ascendī, supine ascēnsum)
Classical[asˈkɛn.doː]Ecclesiastical[aʃˈʃɛn.do]
№ 990 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. to climb up, to go up, to move upwards
  2. to rise, spring up

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

to climb
ascendere — in Seneca, ch. XVI

Conjugation conjugation 3

active indicative
formpresentimperfectfutureperfectpluperfectfut. perfect
1st sg.ascendōascendēbamascendamascendīascenderamascenderō
2nd sg.ascendisascendēbāsascendēsascendistīascenderāsascenderis
3rd sg.ascenditascendēbatascendetascenditascenderatascenderit
1st pl.ascendimusascendēbāmusascendēmusascendimusascenderāmusascenderimus
2nd pl.ascenditisascendēbātisascendētisascendistisascenderātisascenderitis
3rd pl.ascenduntascendēbantascendentascendērunt
ascendēre		ascenderantascenderint
active subjunctive
active subjunctive
formpresentimperfectperfectpluperfect
1st sg.ascendamascenderemascenderimascendissem
2nd sg.ascendāsascenderēsascenderīsascendissēs
3rd sg.ascendatascenderetascenderitascendisset
1st pl.ascendāmusascenderēmusascenderīmusascendissēmus
2nd pl.ascendātisascenderētisascenderītisascendissētis
3rd pl.ascendantascenderentascenderintascendissent
passive indicative
passive indicative
formpresentimperfectfuture
1st sg.ascendorascendēbarascendar
2nd sg.ascenderis
ascendere		ascendēbāris
ascendēbāre		ascendēris
ascendēre
3rd sg.ascenditurascendēbāturascendētur
1st pl.ascendimurascendēbāmurascendēmur
2nd pl.ascendiminīascendēbāminīascendēminī
3rd pl.ascendunturascendēbanturascendentur
passive subjunctive
passive subjunctive
formpresentimperfect
1st sg.ascendarascenderer
2nd sg.ascendāris
ascendāre		ascenderēris
ascenderēre
3rd sg.ascendāturascenderētur
1st pl.ascendāmurascenderēmur
2nd pl.ascendāminīascenderēminī
3rd pl.ascendanturascenderentur
imperative
imperative
formactivepassive
pres. 2nd sg.ascendeascendere
pres. 2nd pl.ascenditeascendiminī
fut. 2nd sg.ascenditōascenditor
fut. 3rd sg.ascenditōascenditor
fut. 2nd pl.ascenditōte—
fut. 3rd pl.ascenduntōascenduntor
infinitives & participles
infinitives & participles
formactivepassive
present infinitiveascendereascendī
perfect infinitiveascendisseascēnsum esse
future infinitiveascēnsūrum esseascēnsum īrī
present participleascendēns—
perfect participle—ascēnsus
ascēnsa, ascēnsā, ascēnsae, ascēnsam, ascēnsārum, ascēnsās, ascēnse, ascēnsī, ascēnsīs, ascēnsō, ascēnsōrum, ascēnsōs
future participleascēnsūrus
ascēnsūra, ascēnsūrā, ascēnsūrae, ascēnsūram, ascēnsūrārum, ascēnsūrās, ascēnsūre, ascēnsūrī, ascēnsūrīs, ascēnsūrō, ascēnsūrōrum, ascēnsūrōs, ascēnsūrum		ascendendus
ascendundus, ascendenda, ascendendā, ascendendae, ascendendam, ascendendārum, ascendendās, ascendende, ascendendīs, ascendendōrum, ascendendōs
gerundascendendī, ascendendō, ascendendumsupineascēnsum, ascēnsū

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

ascendere in equum
to mount.
ad honores ascendere
to rise, mount to the honours of office.
dignitatis gradum ascendere
to attain a position of dignity.
navem conscendere, ascendere
to embark.
positis scalis muros ascendere
to scale the walls by means of ladders.

a-scendo (ads-, Jan; ads- and as-, Müller; as-, other editors), scendi, scensum, 3, v. n. scando,
I. to ascend, mount up, climb; and in eccl. Lat. simply to go up, to rise, to spring up, grow up (syn.: scando, conscendo, orior, surgo, prodeo).
I. Lit. (opp. descendo; and diff. from escendo, which designates a climbing, mounting upon some high object, and involves the idea of exertion; cf. Oud. ad Caes. B. G. 7, 27; Suet. Caes. 61; Ochsn. Ecl. pp. 287 and 288; Doed. Syn. IV. pp. 60 and 61; it often interchanges with escendere in MSS.; cf. e. g. Halm ad Nep. Epam. 4, 5; id. Them. 8, 6, and v. examples below; class.; in Cic. and in Vulg. very freq.), constr. most freq. with in, but also with ad with super, supra, contra, adversus, with acc., and absol. (in Cic. in the lit. signif., except once with the acc., always with in with acc.; but in the trop. signif. in all constrr.).
(a). With in with acc.: in navem ascendere, Plaut. Rud. 2, 2, 20; 2, 6, 54 Fleck.: ascendere in naviculam, Vulg. Matt. 8, 23: in triremem ascendit, Nep. Alcib. 4, 3 (in id. Epam. 4, 5, and Them. 8, 6 Halm now reads escendere): in arborem ascendere, Vulg. Luc. 19, 4: ut in Amanum (urbem) ascenderem, Cic. Fam. 15, 4, 8: ascende in oppidum, Vulg. Jos. 8, 1: lex peregrinum vetat in murum ascendere, Cic. de Or. 2, 24, 100: in equum, id. Sen. 10, 34: in caelum, id. Am. 23, 88; so id. Tusc. 1, 29, 71 (B. and K., escendere); id. Dom. 28, 75; id. Mil. 35, 97 (cf. id. Leg. 2, 8: ascensus in caelum): inque plagas caeli, Ov. M. 11, 518: cavete, ne ascendatis in montem, Vulg. Exod. 19, 12; 24, 13; ib. Matt. 5, 1; ib. Marc. 3, 13: in tribunal ascendere, Cic. Vatin. 14, 34 (B. and K., escendere); so Liv. 2, 28 Drak. (Weissenb., escendere): in contionem, Cic. Att. 4, 2, 3 (B. and K., escendit); so Liv. 3, 49; 5, 50 (Weissenb., escendere, in both these pass.): in Capitolium ascendere, id. 10, 7: sin vestram ascendisset in urbem, Verg. A. 2, 192.—
(b). With ad. ad Gitanas Epiri oppidum, Liv. 42, 38: ad laevam paulatim, Sall. C. 55, 3.—
(g). With acc. or loc. adv.: navem ascendit, Ter. Ad. 4, 5, 69; Phaedr. 4, 22, 9; Vulg. Marc. 4, 1; ib. Luc. 8, 37: ascendit classem, Tac. A. 2, 75: montīs cum ascendimus altos, Lucr. 6, 469: montem, Juv. 1, 82, and Vulg. Psa. 103, 8; cf.: summum jugum montis ascendere, Caes. B. G. 1, 21: fastigia montis anheli, Claud. Rapt. Pros. 3, 383: altitudinem montium, Vulg. Isa. 37, 24: currus, Lucr. 5, 1301 (Lachm., escendere); so Vulg. 3 Reg. 12, 13: adversam ripam, Cic. Div. 1, 28, 58: murum, Caes. B. G. 7, 27; so Verg. A. 9, 507, and Vulg. Jer. 5, 10: equum, Liv. 23, 14; so Suet. Caes. 61, and Vulg. Psa. 75, 7: ascendit Capitolium ad lumina, Suet. Caes. 37: deus adscensurus, Olympum, Tib. 4, 1, 12: magnum iter ascendo, Prop. 4, 10, 3: illuc solita est ascendere filia Nisi, Ov. M. 8, 17; 11, 394: quo simul ascendit, id. ib. 7, 220.—Also pass.: si mons erat ascendendus, Caes. B. C. 1, 79: primus gradus ascendatur, Vitr. 3, 3: porticus adscenduntur nonagenis gradibus, Plin. 36, 13, 19, § 88 (Jan, descenduntur): ascenso simul curru, Suet. Tib. 2 fin.: ne ascensis tanti sit gloria Bactris, Prop 4, 3, 63.—
(d). Absol., of persons ex locis superioribus desuper suos ascendentes protegebant, Caes. B. C. 1, 79: quā fefellerat ascendens hostis, Liv. 5, 47: Ascendit ergo Abram de Aegypto, Vulg. Gen. 13, 1; 19, 30: Ascende huc, ib. Apoc. 4, 1; 12, 12.—Of things: fons ascendebat de terrā, Vulg. Gen. 2, 6: sicut ascendit mare fluctu, ib. Ezech. 26, 3: jam ascendit aurora, ib. Gen. 32, 26' ascendit ignis de petrā, ib. Jud. 6, 21: ascendet fumus ejus, ib. Isa. 34, 10; ib. Apoc. 8, 4: vidit ascendentem favillam de terrā, ib. Gen. 19, 28: ascendet sicut virgultum, ib. Isa. 53, 2; 5, 6: germen eorum, ut pulvis, ascendet, ib. ib. 5, 24.—Also, after the Greek, to go aboard ship, to go out to sea (eccl. Lat.): ascendentes navigavimus, ἐπιβάντες, Vulg. Act. 21, 2: Et ascenderunt, ἀνήχθησαν, ib. Luc. 8, 22.—
II. Trop.
A. Constr in like manner,
(a). With in with acc.: in summum locum civitatis ascendere, Cic. Clu. 55: propter quem (ornatum) ascendit in tantum honorem eloquentia, has grown into such reputation, id. Or. 36, 125: ira ascendit in Israel, Vulg. Psa. 77, 21: Quid cogitationes ascendunt in corda vestra? ib. Luc. 24, 38; ib. Act. 7, 23.—
(b). With ad: sic a principiis ascendit motus et exit paulatim nostros ad sensus, Lucr. 2, 137: aut a minoribus ad majora ascendimus aut a majoribus ad minora delabimur, Cic. Part. Or. 4, 12: propius ad magnitudinem alicujus, Plin. Pan. 61, 2: ad honores, Cic. Brut. 68, 241: ad hunc gradum amicitiae, Curt. 7, 1, 14.—
(g). With super with acc.: ira Dei ascendit super eos, Vulg. Psa. 77, 31: ascendent sermones super cor tuum, ib. Ezech. 38, 10.—
(d). With acc.: ex honoribus continuis familiae unum gradum dignitatis ascendere, Cic. Mur. 27: altiorem gradum, id. Off. 2, 18, 62: cum, quem tenebat, ascenderat gradum, Nep. Phoc. 2, 3: altissimum (gradum), Plin. Ep. 3, 2, 4.—Poet.: ascendere thalamum, i. e. matrimonium contrahere, Val. Fl. 6, 45.—(ε) Absol.: ad summam amplitudinem pervenisset, ascendens gradibus magistratuum, Cic. Brut. 81, 281; Plin. Pan. 58, 3: altius ascendere, Brut. ap. Cic. Ep. ad Brut. 1, 4: gradatim ascendit vox, rises, Cic. de Or. 3, 61, 227: usque ad nos contemptus Samnitium pervenit, supra non ascendit, i. e. alios non tetigit, Liv. 7, 30: donec ascenderit furor Domini, Vulg. 2 Par. 36, 16: ascendet indignatio mea, ib. Ezech. 38, 18.—
B. Esp., super, supra aliquem or aliquid ascendere, to rise above any person or thing, to surpass, to stand higher (twice in Tacitus): (liberti) super ingenuos et super nobiles ascendunt, Tac. G. 25: mihi supra tribunatus et praeturas et consulatus ascendere videor, id. Or. 7.—Hence, ascen-dens (ads-), entis, P. a. *
A. Machina, a machine for ascending, a scaling-ladder, Vitr. 10, 19.—
B. In the jurists, ascendentes are the kindred in an ascending line, ancestors (parents, grandparents, etc.; opp. descendentes, descendants, children, grandchildren, etc.), Dig. 23, 2, 68.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂éd
  2. Proto-Italic*ad
  3. Proto-Italic*ad-
  4. Latinascendō

Proto-Indo-European *skend-der. Proto-Italic *skandō Latin scandō Latin ascendō From ad- (“[up] to”) + scandō (“climb”).

Descendants
  • Catalanascendir
  • Englishascend
  • Frenchascendre
  • Italianascendere
  • Portugueseascender
  • Spanishascender
  • Esperantoascendi
  • Galicianascender
  • Idoacensar
  • Interlinguaascender

Quick answers

What does ascendō mean in Latin?
ascendō, a verb, means “to climb up, to go up, to move upwards; to rise, spring up”.
What are the principal parts of ascendō?
ascendō, ascendere, ascendī, ascēnsum (third conjugation).
How do you pronounce ascendō?
In classical Latin, [asˈkɛn.doː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [aʃˈʃɛn.do].
Where does ascendō come from?
Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd → Proto-Italic *ad → Proto-Italic *ad- → Latin ascendō.