Ascendant \As*cend"ant\, Ascendent \As*cend"ent\, a.

1. Rising toward the zenith; above the horizon.

The constellation . . . about that time ascendant. --Browne.

2. Rising; ascending. --Ruskin.

3. Superior; surpassing; ruling.

An ascendant spirit over him. --South.

The ascendant community obtained a surplus of wealth. --J. S. Mill.

Without some power of persuading or confuting, of defending himself against accusations, . . . no man could possibly hold an ascendent position. --Grote.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
 

Ascendant \As*cend"ant\, n. [F. ascendant, L. ascendens; p. pr. of ascendere.]

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. --Burke.

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. --Ayliffe.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)