ascendancy

1. (historical, Ireland, sometimes capitalized) Ellipsis of Protestant Ascendancy, a class of Protestant landowners and professionals that dominated political and social life in Ireland up to the early 20th century.Examples: "[W. B. Yeats] belonged not to the ascendancy class but to the protestant bourgeoisie."; "True, the “ascendancy” remained a crucial and significant governing class in Irish life, and would remain so for generations."Irelandabbreviationalt-ofcapitalizedcountableellipsishistoricalsometimesuncountable

2. (ecology) A quantitative attribute of an ecosystem, defined as a function of the ecosystem's trophic network, and intended to indicate its ability to prevail against disturbance by virtue of its combined organization and size.Examples: "Ascendency was found to be a useful indicator for the health assessment of marine benthic ecosystems over space and time."countableuncountable