The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Ascend \As*cend"\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Ascended; p. pr. & vb.
   n. Ascending.] [L. ascendere; ad + scandere to climb,
   mount. See Scan.]
   1. To move upward; to mount; to go up; to rise; -- opposed to
      descend.
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            Higher yet that star ascends.         --Bowring.
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            I ascend unto my father and your father. --John xx.
                                                  17.
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   Note: Formerly used with up.
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               The smoke of it ascended up to heaven. --Addison.
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   2. To rise, in a figurative sense; to proceed from an
      inferior to a superior degree, from mean to noble objects,
      from particulars to generals, from modern to ancient
      times, from one note to another more acute, etc.; as, our
      inquiries ascend to the remotest antiquity; to ascend to
      our first progenitor.
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   Syn: To rise; mount; climb; scale; soar; tower.
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