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'eclivit'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.

2.

A descending surface; a sloping place.

Commodious declivities and channels for the passage of the waters. Derham.

 

© Webster 1913.

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