From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Declivity \De*cliv"i*ty\, n.; pl. {Declivities}. [L. declivitas,
fr. declivis sloping, downhill; de + clivus a slope, a hill;
akin to clinare to incline: cf. F. d['e]clivit['e]. See
{Decline}.]
1. Deviation from a horizontal line; gradual descent of
surface; inclination downward; slope; -- opposed to
acclivity, or ascent; the same slope, considered as
descending, being a declivity, which, considered as
ascending, is an acclivity.
[1913 Webster]
2. A descending surface; a sloping place.
[1913 Webster]
Commodious declivities and channels for the passage
of the waters. --Derham.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
declivity
n 1: a downward slope or bend [syn: {descent}, {declivity},
{fall}, {decline}, {declination}, {declension},
{downslope}] [ant: {acclivity}, {ascent}, {climb}, {raise},
{rise}, {upgrade}]
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