Emily Dickinson Lexicon

CON-DE-SCEND', v.i. [It. condescendere; Sp. condescender; Fr. condescendre; con and L. descendo. See Descend.]

1. To descend from the privileges of superior rank or dignity, to do some act to an inferior, which strict justice or the ordinary rules of civility do not require. Hence, to submit or yield, as to an inferior, implying an occasional relinquishment of distinction. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. – Rom. xii.
2. To recede from one's rights in negotiation, or common intercourse, to do some act, which strict justice does not require. Spain's mighty monarch, / In gracious clemency does condescend, / On these conditions, to become your friend. – Dryden.
3. To stoop or descend; to yield; to submit; implying a relinquishment of rank, or dignity of character, and sometimes a sinking into debasement. Can they think me so broken as debased, / With corporal servitude, that my mind ever / Will condescend to such absurd commands? – Milton.