Issue #10771: Clarify that descriptors get used in an *owner* class or one of its...

diff --git a/Doc/reference/datamodel.rst b/Doc/reference/datamodel.rst
index b7137c9a40ad30d8785cc7739ed95be19cb45b68..7c2c9af4c9d8f0d928f54fedc42171665e7514fa 100644 (file)
--- a/Doc/reference/datamodel.rst
+++ b/Doc/reference/datamodel.rst
@@ -1539,11 +1539,11 @@ Implementing Descriptors
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 
 The following methods only apply when an instance of the class containing the
-method (a so-called *descriptor* class) appears in the class dictionary of
-another new-style class (known as the *owner* class) or one of its
-descendants.  In the examples below, "the attribute" refers to the attribute
-whose name is the key of the property in the owner class' ``__dict__``.
-Descriptors can only be implemented as new-style classes themselves.
+method (a so-called *descriptor* class) appears in an *owner* class (the
+descriptor must be in either the owner's class dictionary or in the class
+dictionary for one of its parents).  In the examples below, "the attribute"
+refers to the attribute whose name is the key of the property in the owner
+class' :attr:`__dict__`.
 
 
 .. method:: object.__get__(self, instance, owner)