To condescend is to act as if you are more important or smarter than other people and are 'lowering yourself' to deal with them. It can also mean to agree to do something that you think is beneath your status.
From Latin 'condescendere', meaning 'to descend together, to let oneself down', from 'com-' and 'descendere' ('to go down'). Over time, the idea became negative: coming 'down' to others in a proud or superior way.
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