descend vs slide

descend

verb
  • To fall in pitch; to pass from a higher to a lower tone. 

  • To move toward the south, or to the southward. 

  • to proceed by generation or by transmission; to happen by inheritance. 

  • To go down upon or along; to pass from a higher to a lower part of 

  • to be derived (from) 

  • To pass from a higher to a lower place; to move downwards; to come or go down in any way, for example by falling, flowing, walking, climbing etc. 

  • To enter mentally; to retire. 

  • To come down, as from a source, original, or stock 

  • To come down to a lower, less fortunate, humbler, less virtuous, or worse, state or rank; to lower or abase oneself 

  • To make an attack, or incursion, as if from a vantage ground; to come suddenly and with violence. 

  • And on the suitors let thy wrath descend. 

  • To pass from the more general or important to the specific or less important matters to be considered. 

slide

verb
  • To smoothly pass from one note to another by bending the pitch upwards or downwards. 

  • To (cause to) move in continuous contact with a surface. 

  • To lose one’s balance on a slippery surface. 

  • To move on a low-friction surface. 

  • To pass or put imperceptibly; to slip. 

  • To decrease in amount or value. 

  • To ride down snowy hills upon a toboggan or similar object for recreation. 

  • To go; to move from one place or to another. 

  • To pass along smoothly or unobservedly; to move gently onward without friction or hindrance. 

  • To drop down and skid into a base. 

  • To subtly direct a facial expression at (someone). 

  • To kick so that the ball slides along the ground with little or no turning. 

noun
  • A mechanism consisting of a part which slides on or against a guide. 

  • A shoe that is backless and open-toed. 

  • A pocket in one's pants (trousers). 

  • The falling of large amounts of rubble, earth and stones down the slope of a hill or mountain; avalanche. 

  • A hand-held device made of smooth, hard material, used in the practice of slide guitar. 

  • A small dislocation in beds of rock along a line of fissure. 

  • A voluntary stutter used as a technique to control stuttering in one's speech. 

  • A sound which, by a gradual change in the position of the vocal organs, passes imperceptibly into another sound. 

  • The act of sliding; smooth, even passage or progress. 

  • An item of play equipment that children can climb up and then slide down again. 

  • A flat, usually rectangular piece of glass or similar material on which a prepared sample may be viewed through a microscope Generally referred to as a microscope slide. 

  • A lever that can be moved in two directions. 

  • A valve that works by sliding, such as in a trombone. 

  • A clasp or brooch for a belt, etc. 

  • A page of a computer presentation package such as PowerPoint. 

  • A grace consisting of two or more small notes moving by conjoint degrees, and leading to a principal note either above or below. 

  • A transparent plate bearing an image to be projected to a screen. 

  • The act of dropping down and skidding into a base 

  • A lively dance from County Kerry, in 12/8 time. 

  • A promiscuous woman, slut. 

  • An inclined plane on which heavy bodies slide by the force of gravity, especially one constructed on a mountainside for conveying logs by sliding them down. 

  • A surface of ice, snow, butter, etc. on which someone can slide for amusement or as a practical joke. 

How often have the words descend and slide occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )