From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Ascent \As*cent"\ [Formed like descent, as if from a F. ascente,
fr. a verb ascendre, fr. L. ascendere. See Ascend,
Descent.]
1. The act of rising; motion upward; rise; a mounting upward;
as, he made a tedious ascent; the ascent of vapors from
the earth.
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To him with swift ascent he up returned. --Milton.
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2. The way or means by which one ascends.
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3. An eminence, hill, or high place. --Addison.
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4. The degree of elevation of an object, or the angle it
makes with a horizontal line; inclination; rising grade;
as, a road has an ascent of five degrees.
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