diff --git a/src/lookup/index.ts b/src/lookup/index.ts
index a9fd490..644eee0 100644
--- a/src/lookup/index.ts
+++ b/src/lookup/index.ts
@@ -62,12 +62,16 @@ export class InternalLookup implements Lookup {
       return undefined;
     }
 
-    const result = pointerGet(this.schema, ref.slice(1));
+    let result = pointerGet(this.schema, ref.slice(1));
 
     if (result === undefined) {
       return undefined;
     }
 
+    // reference schema exists, add description from original schema if one exists
+    // fulfills scenario where schema property is a schema ref but also specifies a "top-level" description for the ref schema IE context description
+    result = {description: schema.description, ...result};
+
     // TODO add in a type check on the result to ensure that it is of the right type
 
     const subResult = this.getSchema(result);
@@ -81,4 +85,4 @@ export class InternalLookup implements Lookup {
       baseReference: subResult.baseReference || ref
     };
   }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}