Emily Dickinson Lexicon

AS-CENT', n. [L. ascensus.]

1. The act of rising; motion upwards, whether in air, water or other fluid, or on elevated objects; rise; a mounting upward; as, the ascent of vapors from the earth.
2. The way by which one ascends; the means of ascending. – Bacon.
3. An eminence, hill or high place. – Addison.
4. The degree of elevation of an object, or the angle it makes with a horizontal line; as, a road has an ascent of five degrees.
5. Acclivity; the rise of a hill; as a steep ascent.