ascent

Etymology

Formed from ascend on the model of descend/descent.

noun

1. The act of ascending; a motion upwards.
   He made a tedious ascent of Mont Blanc.
2. The way or means by which one ascends.
   There is a difficult northern ascent from Malaucene of Mont Ventoux.
3. An eminence, hill, or high place.
4. The degree of elevation of an object, or the angle it makes with a horizontal line; inclination; gradient; steepness
   The road has an ascent of 5 degrees.
5. (typography) The ascender height in a typeface.
6. An increase, for example in popularity or hierarchy
   That such a safe adaptation could come of The Hunger Games speaks more to the trilogy’s commercial ascent than the book’s actual content, which is audacious and savvy in its dark calculations. 22 March 2012, Scott Tobias, “The Hunger Games”, in The AV Club