Many people are interested in tracing their ancestry to find out if they are descendants of royalty.

descendants 是名词 descendant 的复数形式，由动词 descend（下降、传下）加上后缀 -ant 构成，表示"后代、后裔"。descend 本身由前缀 de-（向下）和词根 scend（爬、升）组成，字面意思是"向下传"，引申为"遗传、传承"的意思。 descendants of royalty 指"皇室的后代"，即祖上有皇室血统的人。