▪ I. † down, n.1
(daʊn)
Forms: 1 d{uacu}n, 2–4 dun, 4–5 doun(e, 4–7 downe, 4– down.
[OE. d{uacu}n fem., hill = ODu. d{uacu}na (MDu. d{uacu}ne, Du. duin, whence mod.LG. düne sandhill, F. dune). Supposed to be of Celtic origin: cf. OIr. d{uacu}n hill, hill-fort, Welsh din, and place-names in -dūnum.
Since d{uacu}na must have been in use at an early date in the West Germanic dialects of Batavia and Lower Saxony, it is doubtful whether the word was brought by the Saxons from the continent, or adopted, after their settlement here, from the Britons; the former alternative is favoured by the exact correspondence in form and gender of the OE. and ODu. words, and by the fact that in local nomenclature OE. d{uacu}n seems to have been confined to the Saxon area. It is, however, in English only that the word has given rise to an adverb and a preposition: see below.]
† 1. A hill. Obs. (exc. as blending with 2).
| O.E. Chron. an. 661 And ᵹeherᵹeade Wulfhere Pending oþ æsces dune. 971 Blickl. Hom. 27 He hine lædde upon swiþe heá dune. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. xxi. 1 And com..to Oliuetes dune. a 1175 Cott. Hom. 225 Hit ofer-stah ælle duna. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 307/256 Bi niȝte ope heiȝe dounes. a 1300 Cursor M. 7186 (Cott.) Sampson..bar þe yates o þe tun, And laid þam on a hei dun. a 1400–50 Alexander 4045 Darke in dennes vndire dounes. 1653 H. Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. xlix. (1663) 194 A Creek..on the South side of the Island and invironned by a Down or Hill. |
2. An open expanse of elevated land;
spec., in
pl., the treeless undulating chalk uplands of the south and south-east of England, serving chiefly for pasturage; applied to similar tracts elsewhere.
| 1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 144 He wende..to þe downe of Ambresbury. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xiv. xlv. (1495) 483 A downe is a lytyl swellynge or arerynge of erthe passynge the playne grounde..and not retchyng to hyghnesse of an hylle. 1470–85 Malory Arthur xxi. iii, An hondred thousand layed deed vpon the down. 1563 B. Googe Eglogs iii. (Arb.) 42 To take my sheepe, and dwell vpon the downe. 1610 Shakes. Temp. iv. i. 81 My boskie acres, and my vnshrubd downe. 1646 Evelyn Mem. (1857) I. 229 Downs of fine grass, like some places in the south of England. 1670 Narborough Jrnl. in Acc. Sev. Late Voy. i. (1711) 22 As bare as the Grass-Downs in England. 1777 Phil. Trans. LXVII. 386 Turf, equal to any of the finest on our sheep downs. 1842 Penny Cycl. XXIII. 343/2 They [tracts of poor land] are..left in down, and produce excellent pasture for the small sheep known as South Down sheep. 1856 Emerson Eng. Traits, Stonehenge Wks. (Bohn) II. 123 On the broad downs..not a house was visible, nothing but Stonehenge. 1862 Stanley Jew. Ch. (1877) I. iii. 53 The undulating downs of Gilead. |
b. Frequent in alliterative association with
dale:
dale and down, low land and upland.
| c 1200, a 1300, c 1386 [see dale n.1 1]. c 1440 Gesta Rom. lxii. 220 (Harl. MS.) Thou shalt go by downys and by dalys. 1522 World & Child in Hazl. Dodsley I. 250 All is at my hand-work, both by down and by dale. 1810 Scott Lady of L. i. xxx, By dale and down We dwell, afar from tower and town. |
3. A sand-hill,
dune.
| 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. cxlv. (R.) Other by the downes by the sea syde, or elles aboue by the highe way. a 1608 Sir F. Vere Comm. 88 The space betwixt the sea and the sand-hills or Downs, was commanded by the said hills. 1677 W. Hubbard Narrative (1865) II. 51 Sorely wounded on Sawco Sands or Downs. 1750 Carte Hist. Eng. II. 470 Over the downs of sand by the sea side. 1837 Penny Cycl. IX. 117 Downs or Dunes are little hillocks of sand formed along the sea-coast..Downs sometimes intercept the flow of water to the sea. |
4. the Downs: the part of the sea within the Goodwin Sands, off the east coast of Kent, a famous rendezvous for ships. (It lies opposite to the eastern termination of the North Downs.)
| a 1460 Gregory's Chron. in Hist. Coll. Citizen Lond. (Camden) 178 The vyntage come by londe ynne cartys unto London fro the Downys. 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VI (an. 38) 175 b, Sir Simon Mondford..was appoynted to kepe the downes, and the five Portes. 1666–7 Pepys Diary 2 Jan., To send all the ships we can possible to the Downes. 1773 Cook First Voy. Concl. (R.), About three [we] came to an anchor in the Downs, and went a-shore at Deal. 1778 Eng. Gazetteer, Downs, a road on the coast of Kent, through which ships generally pass, in going out and returning home. It is 6 miles long between the North and South Foreland. |
5. Applied to a superior breed of sheep, raised on the chalk downs of England.
Cf. Southdown.
| 1831 Lincoln Herald 21 Oct. 1/1 Prime young Downs sell at 4s. to 5s. 1842 Penny Cycl. XXIII. 345/2 A heavier sort of sheep, a cross between the Somerset and the Down. |
6. attrib. and
Comb. (Also
downland1.)
| 1807 Southey Espriella's Lett. I. 47 Here we left the down country, and once more entered upon cultivated fields. 1826 in Cobbett Rur. Rides II. 193 The down-farms in Wiltshire. 1876 Helps Study Bible 215 s.v. Grass, The bare down-grass of the limestone hills of Judæa. |
▪ II. down, n.2 (
daʊn)
Also 4–7
downe, 5–6
dawne, 5–7
doun.
[a. ON. d{uacu}n, nom. d{uacu}nn down, æðar-d{uacu}n eider-down, Sw. dun, Da. duun, whence LG. dûne, Ger. daune, dune.] 1. a. The first feathering of young birds.
b. The fine soft covering of fowls, forming the under plumage, used for stuffing beds, pillows, etc.
| c 1369 Chaucer Dethe Blaunche 250 Of downe of pure doves white. 1465 Mann. & Househ. Exp. 321 Paid for iij. pelewes of downe, vij.s. viij.d. 1530 Palsgr. 215/1 Downe of any yong byrde, follet. 1600 Hakluyt Voy. III. 267 (R.) Soft beds of downe or feathers. 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. iv. iv. 374 This hand, As soft as Doues-downe, and as white as it. 1747 Gentl. Mag. 172 Iseland..Hence come the finest downs, which are the plumage of a bird called Aidur or Eider. 1870 Yeats Nat. Hist. Comm. 309 The development of feathers is always preceded by that of down, which constitutes the first covering of young birds. |
| fig. 1634 Ford P. Warbeck iii. ii, Must I break from the down of thy embraces, To put on steel. 1750 Johnson Rambler No. 74 ¶7 To lull him on the down of absolute authority. 1827 Pollok Course T. v, The silken down of happiness complete. |
2. Applied to substances of the same nature or appearance:
a. The hair as it first shows itself on the human face, or the like.
| 1580 Baret Alv., Doune..the soft haires, or mossinesse in the visages of young folkes. 1597 Shakes. Lover's Compl. 93 Small show of man was yet upon his chin: His phœnix down began but to appear. 1697 Dryden æneid viii. (R.) The callow down began To shade my chin, and call me first a man. 1874 Burnand My time xvi. 136 Floyd stroked the down on his upper lip. |
b. The pubescence on some plants and fruits; the soft feathery pappus of some seeds.
| c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. xi. 219 He..most pike away the downe of al the tre. 1551 Turner Herbal i. B iv b, Alopecurus..hath..a great thycke and busshy eare full of longe downes. 1652 Culpepper Eng. Physic. 184 The Cotton or Doun of Quinces. 1796 H. Hunter tr. St. Pierre's Stud. Nat. (1799) I. 213 There is not a down upon a plant..but what has it's utility. 1861 Miss Pratt Flower. Pl. I. 6 The Calyx..is at first a mere ring, which ultimately becomes the pappus or down. |
c. Any substance of a feathery or fluffy nature.
| 1626 Bacon Sylva 560 Down or Nap cometh of a subtile Spirit, in a Soft or Fat substance. 1758 A. Reid tr. Macquer's Chym. I. 240 Nitre..effloresces..on their surface, in the form of a crystalline down. 1831 Brewster Optics xii. 101 The blackness of the surfaces arose from their being entirely composed of a fine down of quartz. |
3. attrib. and
Comb., as
down-bed,
down-feather,
down-head,
down-pillow,
down-plumage; also
down-covered,
down-headed,
down-like,
down-shod,
down-soft,
adjs.;
down-beard, the pappus of the thistle;
down-thistle,
Onopordon Acanthium (Britten & Holland);
down-tree, the cork-wood,
Ochroma Lagopus;
down-weed,
Filago germanica (Miller).
| 1843 Carlyle Misc., Dr. Francia (1872) VII. 18 Like an idle globular *downbeard. |
| 1601 Chester Love's Mart., Cantoes xxxix, Loving in such a *downe-bed to be placed. 1692 Locke Educ. (1693) 24 A tender weakly constitution is very much owing to Downe-Beds. |
| a 1847 Eliza Cook Winter is here iv, *Down-covered peaches. |
| 1606 Shakes. Ant. & Cl. iii. ii. 48 The Swannes *downe feather That stands vpon the Swell. 1882 Martin & Moale Handbk. Vertebrate Dissection ii. 97 Lying beneath the contour feathers are down feathers (plumulæ). 1959 C. J. Hylander Feathers & Flight i. 10 Down feathers are the first body covering of baby birds. |
| 1821 Clare Vill. Minstr. II. 32 He..perch'd on the *down-headed grass. |
| 1835–6 Todd Cycl. Anat. I. 747/1 The hairs..becoming finer and more *down-like as they descend. |
| 1863 M. E. Braddon J. Marchmont III. i. 6 [He] raised himself amongst the *down pillows. |
| 1614 R. Tailor Hog hath lost Pearl v. in Hazl. Dodsley XI. 485 The *down-soft white of lady's tempting breast. |
| 1640 Parkinson Theat. Bot. Index (Britt. & Holl.) *Down Thistle. |
| 1562 Turner Herbal ii. 11 b, Cottenwede..maye be called in English *Downewede because the leafe broken is lyke Downe or cotton. |
▪ III. down, n.3 [down adv., used subst., as a name for itself, or elliptically for ‘downward motion.’] † 1. The burden of a song. (
Cf. down adv. 26.)
| 1611 Cotgr., Refrain d'une Balade, the Refret, burthen, or downe of a Ballade. 1656 Blount Glossogr., Refret, the Burthen or Down of a Song or Ballad. |
2. a. A going down, a descent; a reverse of fortune. Usually in phrase
ups and downs.
| 1710 Brit. Apollo II. No. 103. 3/2 Wit has her Up's and Downs. 1844 Dickens Mart. Chuz. xvi, Fraudulent transactions have their downs as well as their ups. 1872 Black Adv. Phaeton xxvii, The ups and downs of this route. |
b. An act of throwing down, as in wrestling. Also in American and Canadian football: see
quots.| 1840 W. G. Simms Border Beagles 134 He downed him; a fair stupid down. 1882 in P. H. Davis Football (1911) 470 They must give up the ball to the other side at the spot where the fourth down was made. 1893 W. K. Post Harvard Stories 22 After three downs Spofford dropped back. 1897 Encycl. Sport I. 425/1 A down.—The term used to indicate the number of attempts made to advance the ball. Each side has three tries in which to advance the ball five yards. The end of each try, i.e. when the ball is held by the opposing side, is a down. As soon as the five yards have been gained it is first down again. 1927 Observer 11 Dec. 16/3 After the kick-off the side that has the ball must gain ten yards in a maximum of four ‘downs’. Otherwise it loses the ball. 1959 Times 30 Nov. (Canada Suppl.) p. xx/1 Canada has the downs system, by which a team must make 10 yards in three downs, or turns, or lose the ball. 1970 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 28 Sept. 18/3 Fifteen of Montreal's first downs were earned on the ground to six for the Riders. |
3. Dominoes. (See
quots.)
| 1870 Hardy & Ware Mod. Hoyle, Dominoes 92 He who draws the domino containing the smallest number of pips, wins ‘the down’; [i.e.] he wins the privilege of playing first. Ibid. 94 In leading ‘the down’ from a hand consisting of a high double and several light dominoes, lead the double. |
† 4. slang. (See
quots.)
Cf. down adv. 22.
Obs.| 1812 J. H. Vaux Flash Dict. s.v., A down is a suspicion, alarm, or discovery, which taking place, obliges yourself and palls to give up or desist from the business..to put a down upon a man, is to give information of any robbery or fraud he is about to perpetrate, so as to cause his failure or detection. 1821 D. Haggart Life Gloss. 171 (Farmer) Down, alarm; rose the down, gave the alarm. |
5. colloq. A tendency to be ‘down
upon’; a grudge. Chiefly in
phr. to have a down on: to dislike, regard unfavourably, be ill-disposed towards.
orig. Austral.| 1856 W. W. Dobie Recoll. Visit Port-Phillip v. 84 The bushranger had been in search of another squatter, on whom ‘he said he had a down’. 1862 C. R. Thatcher Canterbury Songster 10 I've got no ‘down’ on Travers. 1874 M. Clarke His Natural Life (1875) I. ii. vii. 237 He never ceased to..find fault with him... It was evident that Mr. Frere had a ‘down’ on the Dandy. 1878 R. B. Smyth Aborig. Victoria I. 129 Blacks never like a quarrel to be of long standing:..nothing would make a man more miserable than to think that some of his tribe had a ‘down’ on him. 1893 J. A. Barry Steve Brown's Bunyip 193 More especially had they a ‘down’ on people who wore a goatee and snuffled when they talked. 1894 Mrs. H. Ward Marcella I. 310 Westall has a down on him. 1895 Westm. Gaz. 13 May 2/1 There is a remarkable ‘down’ on coercion just now in Europe. 1904 Daily Chron. 8 Dec. 8/1 Why this ‘down’ on an always useful, sometimes dainty, garment? 1916 Chrons. N.Z.E.F. 27 Dec. 199 They've got a down on arrogance and swank. 1928 S. Vines Humours Unreconciled xiii. 179 Somebody'd got a down on him. 1947 W. S. Maugham Creatures of Circumstance 151 She had a down on Lady Kastellan and didn't care what she said about her. |
6. A cry of
down with; see
down adv. 25 b.
| 1889 Times (weekly ed.) 13 Dec. 17/4 The others..at once raised ‘hurrahs’ for him..and ‘downs’ for the Ministry. |
7. A ‘down’ train or coach.
rare.
8. The position or action of a dog lying down in response to an order to do so.
| 1948 E. H. S. Longhurst Dog Training 158 Tests for obedience classes..Recall from Sit or Down (dog to be recalled by handler when stationary..). Ibid. 159 Article to be given to the handler as he leaves the ring for the ‘down’. |
Add:
9. a. A state of depression or low spirits; a condition of emotional or physical debility; also, an experience which induces such a feeling.
Cf. down a. 1 e.
colloq. (
orig. and chiefly
N. Amer.).
| 1950 Amer. Speech XXV. 173/1 Down, a low condition; feeling less sanguine than is usual. 1969 Current Slang (Univ. S. Dakota) IV. 6 School after four years is really a down. 1972 Village Voice (N.Y.) 1 June 50/3 The psychological down [induced by barred windows] is so severe that many would rather take the chance of being robbed than block out the sunshine with an ominous gate. 1984 Times 20 Dec. 18 All athletes have a down after a supreme test like that. 1988 Observer 31 Jan. 64/7 Once we saw a depressive in a deep down laughing aloud at a Rowe self-help manual. |
b. = downer n. 2 a.
Cf. up n. 7. Freq. in
pl. slang (
orig. U.S.).
| [1968–70 Current Slang (Univ. S. Dakota) III–IV. 40 Down,..anything that produces depression after a period of elation (from drug jargon).—College students, both sexes, New Hampshire.] 1969 A. H. Cain Young People & Drugs 158 Downs,..barbiturate drugs. 1972 M. Kaye Lively Game of Death xx. 115 Tom needed money for drugs..pot, acid, speed, ups, downs. 1976 New Yorker 15 Mar. 40/3 They had to be cops—..bringing handfuls of ups and downs out of their pockets. 1977 Gay News 24 Mar. 23/2 Another stranger, on downs, is making a minor nuisance of himself. 1982 L. Block Eight Million Ways to Die xxii. 200 It's mostly downs. A lot of tranks. |
▪ IV. down, a. (
daʊn)
[down adv. used attrib. with verbal ns. as leap, or by ellipsis of some participial word, as running, directed.] 1. a. Directed downwards; descending. Also
fig.| 1647 H. More Song of Soul ii. iii. iii. xxxi, Binding all close with down-propensities. 1791 ‘Gambado’ Ann. Horsem. ix. (1809) 107 A down leap is not so very dangerous. 1858 Advt. in Skyring's Builder's Prices, Eaves gutters and down pipe. 1883 Gentl. Mag. July 54 He passed from the up to the down bow in those long cantabile notes. 1894 Hall Caine Manxman 24 A down line for every stone weight up to eight stones. |
b. Of looks or aspect: Directed downwards.
| c 1565 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. 388 (Jam.) The kingis doun look at thame. 1580 Hollyband Treas. Fr. Tong, Regardeure basse, doune looke. 1604 T. M. Black Bk. (Cent. Dict.) A down countenance he had. 1637 R. Monro Expedit. i. 63 (Jam.) Fearing..the down-looke or frowne of his officers. 1687 Lond. Gaz. No. 2223/4 A low stature..grey eyes, and a Down-look. a 1717 Bp. O. Blackall Wks. (1723) I. 158 True Religion does not consist in a peculiar Garb..in a down Look. |
c. Of a train or coach: Going ‘down’,
i.e. away from the central or chief terminus; in Great Britain, from London. Hence
transf. Of or pertaining to down trains, as
the down platform.
| 1840 H. Cockton V. Vox v. 27 They met the ‘down coach’. 1845 in J. R. Planché Extravaganzas (1879) III. 48 Opening of the Down Line to the ‘Bee and Orange’ Station. 1846 ― Bee & Orange Tree v. 28 The Fairy Atmospheric down train descends rapidly and then enters the Garden. 1851 Offic. Catal. Gt. Exhib. I. 249 The signal..distinguishes an ‘up’ from a ‘down’ train. 1878 F. S. Williams Midl. Railw. 656 To go down to the roadside station..and see the down mail pass. 1885 Law Times Rep. LII. 622/2 To cross the line to the down platform. 1890 Boldrewood Colonial Reformer (1891) 131 The up coach leaving and the down one just coming in. 1892 Daily News 17 Oct. 2/8 Pneumatic tubes between this Central Office and..post offices in the City and West-end, some of them having ‘up’ and ‘down’ tubes. |
d. Of a payment: see
down adv. 12.
| 1926 Automotive Industries 16 Sept. 451 The dealer gets less total money on the whole transaction but permits the unpaid balance after the down-payment to be greater. 1930 San Antonio (Texas) Light 31 Jan. 14/6 Small down payment, balance like rent. 1959 J. Braine Vodi x. 138 The money for the first inescapable hundred down-payments. 1970 New York III. 16 Nov. 45/2 He had $1,000 for the down payment on his house. |
e. down trip, an unpleasant or depressing hallucinatory experience induced by the drug LSD.
U.S. slang.| 1968 [see blow v.1 24 j]. 1968 J. Hudson Case of Need iii. i. 172 She was real depressed. She took a couple of down-trips, real freaks, and it shook her up. |
f. Of a crossword clue (or answer): that fills spaces down a vertical line of the puzzle. See sense 1 b of the
adv. Cf. across a.
| 1925 W. McCarty Noah's Word Animals 8 No. 2 is a down word. 1963 [see across a.]. 1981 Kurzban & Rosen Compleat Cruciverbalist iii. 37 Work only from the Down definitions. |
2. In a low condition of health or vitality.
rare.
| 1690 W. Walker Idiomat. Anglo-Lat. 319 An old down⁓man [depontanus]. 1885 Fitzpatrick Life T. N. Burke II. 225 A friend who visited [him] on one of his ‘down⁓days’ [= days of sickness]. |
† 3. Downcast, dejected.
Obs. (
exc. predicatively: see
down adv. 18).
| 1645 Quarles Sol. Recant. ii. 24 Goe winde the Plummets up Of thy down spirits. |
† 4. Downright, positive.
Obs.| 1617 Fletcher Valentinian i. i, After my many offers..And her as many down-denials. a 1619 M. Fotherby Atheom. ii. iii. §4. (1622) 220 He being named from his downe Being, I am. [1830 Galt Lawrie T. ii. v. (1849) 57 He..talked even down nonsense.] |
5. Particle Physics. Designating a quark carrying a flavour with a charge of -
1/
3; symbol
d (
D III. 3 c). Also as
n., (a quark with) this flavour. [See note
s.v. S 15. The name first appeared in print later than the symbol
d.]
| 1975 Physical Rev. D. XII. 2108 We find m = 122 MeV for the mass of the degenerate up and down quarks. 1975, etc. [see up a. 6]. 1978 Nature 2 Feb. 406/2 Particles like the proton are made up of three quarks — two ups and one down for the proton itself — whereas the other class of particles called mesons..contain a quark and an antiquark. 1979 Sci. Amer. July 109/1 That happens in ordinary radioactivity, where an up quark is changed into a down quark or vice versa. 1981 D. Wilkinson in J. H. Mulvey Nature of Matter i. 24 There are ‘ordinary’ quarks (of two kinds called ‘up’ and ‘down’) such as go into the neutron and proton..; there are ‘strange’ quarks [etc.]. 1981 Sci. Amer. Feb. 65/1 A total of five flavors have definitely been observed (they are called up, down, strange, charm and bottom) and the existence of a sixth flavor (top) is all but certain. |
[1.] [e.] Substitute for
def.:
U.S. slang. Causing or characterized by depression, despondency, or lack of vigour;
down trip, an unpleasant or depressing hallucinatory experience induced by the drug LSD.
Cf. *
down n.3 9 a. (Further examples.)
| 1968 T. Leary Politics of Ecstasy xiv. 260 Now alcohol is a ‘down’ experience. It narrows consciousness and makes you rather sloppy, a rather messy person in thought and action. 1972 New Yorker 5 Aug. 21 It's too down. I don't like down movies. I like up movies. 1977 S. Turow One L 132 Primarily, a down week with a couple of lighter spots. 1988 Natural Choice vii. 8/3 Have you pulled yourself together or are you in a down phase at the moment? |
▸
down card n. Cards (chiefly
Poker) a playing card dealt face down; opposed to
up-card.
| 1885 Penn Yann (N.Y.) Express 18 Mar. 4/2 One player may have an ace in sight, another a king, and so on. Should any one of these pair the ‘*down card’ it would constitute the strongest hand. 1937 Hammond (Indiana) Times 15 June 13/6 It was a modest game, they tell me, the champion risking just a dime on each down card. 1999 F. Barthelme & S. Barthelme Double Down v. 67 When she flips her down card there it is, the ace. |
▪ V. down, adv. (
daʊn)
Forms: 1–4
d{uacu}n, 1–6
dune, 3–6
doun(e, (4
dunne, 4–5
don(e,
dowun, 5
douun), 4–7
downe, 5–
down, (9
north. dial. doon).
[In late OE. d{uacu}ne, d{uacu}n, aphetic form of ad{uacu}ne adown, weakened from OE. of d{uacu}ne off the hill or height (see down n.1).] The following are the general and usual senses of the adverb; for its special combinations with verbs, as
bear down,
break down,
bring down,
burn down,
call down,
cast down,
come down, see under the verbs.
I. Of motion or direction in space.
1. a. In a descending direction; from above, or towards that which is below; from a higher to a lower place or position; to the ground.
It is applied to any degree of descent, from a vertical fall to the slightest slope as in a nearly level river valley, and thus passes into sense 2, in which the descent may be entirely imaginary or conventional.
| a 1100 O.E. Chron. an. 1070 Brohton dune þæt hæcce þe þær wæs behid. 1154 Ibid. an. 1140 Me læt hire dun on niht of þe tur mid rapes. a 1300 Cursor M. 12962 (Cott.) Hu bot lepe dun [v.r. done] to the grund. 1340 Ayenb. 246 Þe lheddre..huerby þe angles..cliue op and doun. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 1220 Dido, Doun cam the reyn. 1470–85 Malory Arthur xiii. viii, The teres began to renne doune by his vysage. 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, 26 b, He a lighted downe of his horse. 1597 Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae 1527 Gif we gae doun. 1750 Johnson Rambler No. 15 ¶9, I was set down at my aunt's. 1808 Scott Marm. ii. xiv, Where his cathedral..Looks down upon the Wear. 1889 Wallace Darwinism 343 Debris brought down by rivers to the ocean. |
b. Of a crossword clue (or answer): down a vertical line of the puzzle. Often after the clue number.
Cf. across adv. 2 d.
| 1924 C. Layng Cross-Word Puzzles 6 Aha! we are off. No. 2, down, is a preposition. 1944, 1960 [see across adv. 2 d]. 1971 R. Rendell One Across v. 42 The well-meaning idiot who..demands..to be told how many letters in fifteen down. 1981 Kurzban & Rosen Compleat Cruciverbalist iii. 32 Suppose your dilemma involves the word at 15 Across.., and that 7 Down is shown. |
2. To some place which is conventionally viewed as lower in position; in the direction of a current, or with the wind; from the capital to the distant parts of a country; away from a university; from the House of Lords to the House of Commons or ‘lower house’; to a lower or inferior court of law, etc. Also vaguely in
up and down, which is often
= to and fro: see
up.
| a 1200 Moral Ode 240 He..walkeð weri up and dun, se water deþ mid winde. c 1320 Seuyn Sag. (W.) 3816 Thai sold..spir in stretes, vp and downe, Efter a man of strange cuntrè. 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. i. ii. 31 And wander vp and downe to view the Citie. 1671 Lady M. Bertie in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 22 Your mourning..which Fynes sent downe a Thursday. 1678 Lady Chaworth Ibid. 48 All but six Lords disliked the Commons adresse to the King, so it was sent them downe againe. 1697 W. Dampier Voy. I. vii. 208 We bore down right afore the wind on our Enemies. 1726 G. Roberts 4 Years Voy. 10 We took in six Cows to carry down to St. Jago. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. xix, We caught him up accidentally in our journey down. 1769 Falconer Dict. Marine (1789) F, We say, up to windward, and down to leeward. 1798 Pitt in G. Rose Diaries (1860) I. 216, I have a scheme of running down..to Somersetshire. 1853 ‘C. Bede’ Verdant Green i. xii, He won't..gate or chapel you..or send you down. 1883 Cambridge Staircase viii. 137, I am in college, and there I intend to remain till I go down. 1895 Ld. Watson in Law Times Rep. LXXIII. 636/1, I think that this case must go down for a new trial. Mod. I have been running up and down all the morning. |
II. Of position in space.
3. a. In a low or lowered situation or position; on the ground.
| 1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 29 Beter hym hadde ybe Haue bileued þer doune, þan y-lerned for to fle. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 1602 Þus es þis world turned up þat es doune. 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon v. 132 Whan they were doun from ther horses. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. i. 34 A litle lowly Hermitage..Downe in a dale, hard by a forests side. a 1682 Sir T. Browne Tracts 55 When the river is down. 1726 Leoni Alberti's Archit. I. 28/1 Such Trees as grow..down in a Valley. 1868 Holme Lee B. Godfrey xlvii. 255 The blinds were down. 1894 Hall Caine Manxman 100 The tide was down, the harbour was empty of water. |
b. Theatr. = down stage adv.| 1893 Wilde Lady Windermere i. 12 Duchess of Berwick (Coming down C., and shaking hands). Ibid. 15 Lord Darlington (Moves up C.)..Lord Darlington (Coming down back of table). a 1916 H. James Compl. Plays (1949) 193 Enter Noémie Nioche and Lord Deepmere, rapidly down from centre. Ibid. 194 Her father has the voice of some young fellow I know. (Coming down, left centre.) Whose is it? 1939 N. Coward 2nd Play Parade 17 An ordinary bus sign R.C. [right centre] down on footlights. |
4. At a place or in a locality which is considered as lower; at a distance from the capital; away in the country; away from the university.
| 1830 Marryat King's Own xli, He was to be down at Portsmouth in a few days. 1836 ― Midsh. Easy i. 5 A gentleman who lived down in Hampshire. 1883 Cambridge Staircase v. 81 His ‘health’ had compelled him to stay down for the whole of our first year. |
III. Of position, posture, attitude.
5. Into or in a fallen, sitting, or overthrown position or posture.
down for the count: see
count n.1 1 c.
| c 1205 Lay. 6864 Seoððen he dun læi. c 1300 Havelok 925 Sit now doun and et ful yerne. c 1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 69 Nouȝt honge þere heedis doun. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) viii. 32 Þare was sum tyme a chapell, bot now it es all doune. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 4725 Þai knelyd doune before þe saynt. 1610 Shakes. Temp. iii. i. 23 If you'l sit downe Ile beare your Logges the while. 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. v. 89 Fold it down. 1678 Bunyan Pilgr. i. 1, I laid me down in that place to sleep. 1700 S. L. tr. Fryke's Voy. E. Ind. 62 We..batter'd it down in a very little time. 1755 Game at Cricket 10 A Stump hit by the Ball, though the Bail was down, is out. 1799 H. More Fem. Educ. (ed. 4) I. 279 Christianity..pulls down their images. 1848 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. IX. ii. 524 Five fields, one of which is always down to sainfoin. 1894 Baring-Gould Des. S. France II. 228 He cut them down almost to a man. |
6. Prostrate with sickness; ‘on the sick list’, ill.
| 1710 Swift Jrnl. to Stella 23 Dec., Write to MD when you are down. 1712 W. Rogers Voy. 206 We have now about 50 men down. 1742 Richardson Pamela III. 351 Five Children, who had been all down in Fevers and Agues. 1876 Tennyson Harold ii. i, When I was down in the fever, she was down with the hunger. 1892 Times 12 Jan. 10/1 A large number of the..household are down with influenza. |
7. to run, ride, hunt, etc. down: to bring to the ground, to overtake or overthrow, by running, etc. See also the verbs.
| 1659 D. Pell Impr. Sea 137 Great care taken..who should run down one another by the board first. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 115 ¶6 Foxes of the Knight's own hunting down. 1883 Sir M. Williams Relig. Th. in Ind. ix. 245 Capable of..riding down the most active demon-antagonist. 1888 Times 16 Oct. 10/5, I was tracked down in rather less time than it had taken me to cover the ground. |
IV. Particular varieties of direction or position.
8. Below the horizon;
going down, setting;
down, set.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 6800 (Cott.) Ar sun ga dun þat ilk dai. c 1400 Destr. Troy 7807 The day wex dym, doun was the sun. 1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 18 The rysing, and goyng downe of every Planet. 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. ii. 89 Far Northward or Southward..the Sun goeth not down, as they find that Sail about the North Cape. 1849 James Woodman ii, The sun had gone down some two hours before. |
9. Below the surface or to the bottom of water; into the depths of the sea:
to go down, to sink;
to run down, to sink (
trans.) by running against.
| 1659 D. Pell Impr. Sea 298 One, or both of those ships..goes down with all their passengers in the very bottome. 1782 Cowper Loss R. George vi, When Kempenfelt went down With twice four hundred men. 1886 Newspr., A boat's crew of the whaling schooner..was taken down by a whale near the Cape Verde islands. |
10. To the ground-floor or floor below; downstairs,
scil. from one's bedroom, or to the dining-room, to dinner.
| 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. iii. v. 66 Is she not downe so late, or vp so early? 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. iv, Down came my wife and daughters. 1887 Mrs. J. H. Perks From Heather Hills II. xviii. 308 A quiet dinner-party, with a nice, sensible man to take you down. |
11. Down the throat; into the stomach;
to go down, to be swallowed; also
fig. to please the mental palate: see
go.
| 1582 N. Lichefield tr. Castanheda's Conq. E. Ind. xvii. 44 The king shuld not swallow y⊇ same downe. 1632 Massinger City Madam i. i, Butcher's meat will not go down. 1660 tr. Amyraldus' Treat. conc. Relig. ii. vi. 241 A bitter potion that is soon down. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. xviii, Fletcher, Ben Jonson, and all the plays of Shakespeare, are the only things that go down. 1816 Keatinge Trav. (1817) I. 105 Which homely fare they wash down with a spoonful of light wine. |
12. In reference to payment: (Laid) upon the table or counter; (paid) on the spot, or at the instant.
| 1557 in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxford (1880) 265 Payeng vijli done. 1605 Shakes. Lear i. ii. 93, I dare pawne downe my life for him. 1669 in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. (1890) 11 Lord Huntington's marriage..with Sir James Langham's daughter, who gives 20,000l. downe. 1894 Wolseley Marlborough I. 77 For a lump sum down, and a liberal annuity..Charles agreed to declare war. |
13. On paper or other surface used for writing; in writing: with
write,
note,
set,
put,
take,
lay, etc. See the verbs.
| 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 83 He gathereth arguments..and setteth him selfe downe for a president or patterne to bee followed. Ibid. 236 In the margent, the name of the person is set downe to whome the same was directed. 1599 Shakes. Much Ado iv. ii. 17 Write downe Master gentleman Conrade. 1697 W. Dampier Voy. I. xvi. 448 Many shoals..are not laid down in our Drafts. 171. Steele Spect. No. 155 ¶2, I will keep Pen and Ink at the Bar, and write down all they say to me. 1712 W. Rogers Voy. 248, I took down the Names. 1847 Marryat Childr. N. Forest ix, I should have put you down for eighteen or nineteen at least. 1885 Manch. Exam. 14 July 5/3 Mr. Stansfield's bill..was down for second reading on Wednesday. |
V. Of order, time, condition, quality, or value.
14. a. From a higher to a lower point or member in any series or order.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 1659 (Cott.) Fra þe mast dun to þe lest. 1684 R. H. School Recreat. 92 So by turns, 'till every Bell being hunted up and down, comes into its proper Place again. Ibid. 96 Whatsoever Bells you follow when you Hunt up, the same Bells in the same order you must follow in Hunting down. 1816 Keatinge Trav. (1817) II. 68 Every country has its etiquettes..in Spain, down even to the taking of a pinch of snuff. 1876 Trevelyan Macaulay I. i. 53 From the highest effort of genius down to the most detestable trash. 1885 Manch. Exam. 28 May 5/2 From the aristocracy down to the collier and quarryman. |
b. (So many points, etc.) behind one's opponent in a game; opposed to
up.
| 1894 Times 16 June 16/1 [He] lost the [golf] match by four down, and two to play. 1897 Encycl. Sport I. 472/2 A player is said to be down when his opponent has won one or more holes [more] than he has. 1907 H. H. Hilton Golfing Remin. 103 At the fourteenth hole he was one down. 1959 Times 28 May 4/2 He had another hard [golf] match, but was, I think, never down. |
15. From an earlier to a later time;
down to date (after
up to date).
| 1415 Hoccleve To Sir J. Oldcastle 122 Vnto seint Petir and his successours, And so foorth doun. 1662 Stillingfl. Orig. Sacr. ii. i. §5 Down from the time of Moses. 1747 Berkeley Tar-water in Plague Wks. III. 480 Throughout all ages down to our own. 1816 Keatinge Trav. (1817) I. 228 The accounts which the ancients have handed down to us. 1889 Cent. Dict. II. 1461/2 Down to date, up to date, to the present time. 1892 ‘Mark Twain’ Amer. Claim. 211 I've got part of him down to date, anyway. 1897 ― Following the Equator xxv. 244 He was down to date with them, too. 1901 Daily Chron. 1 Nov. 5/2 An author of the most down-to-date ballads of the barrack-room. 1930 Morning Post 4 Mar. 7/5 The most down-to-date dictionaries. 1937 Daily Tel. 19 Nov. 22 The down-to-date traveller discovered..that without the aid of aeroplanes it was only just possible to equal Fogg's record. |
16. To a lower amount; to or at a reduced rate or price.
| 1573 Acc. Burgh Glasg. 22 Aug. (Jam. Supp.) Gevin to James Andersoun..doun of his ferme be ressoun of the greit droutht, xxj li. 1678 Butler Hud. iii. ii. 320 Bringing down the price of coals. 1838 Macaulay Temple Ess. (1886) 434 Cutting down his salary. 1894 Daily News 14 Apr. 5/2 Turbot is down too. |
17. a. To or in a lower or inferior condition, a state of depression, subjection, humiliation, inaction, restraint, defeat, discomfiture, annihilation.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 15736 Or hys iuel schulde brynge hym doun. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 19 Of þi myche joie þou didist doun alle yvele spiritis. 1513 Douglas æneis Contents 22 Rutulianis..By the deceiss of Camylla doun bett. 1596 Drayton Legends i. 357 Who can rayse him, that Fortune will have downe? 1605 Bacon Adv. Learn. ii. x. §12 The Olympian games are down long since. 1618 Bolton Florus (1636) 117 Annibal, now quite downe. 1760 C. Johnston Chrysal (1822) I. 289 She happened to look at her watch, but it was down. 1857 H. Reed Lect. Eng. Poets viii. 274 If the spirit of a nation goes down, its poetry will go down with it. 1872 Spurgeon Treas. Dav. Ps. lxix. 26 If a godly man be a little down in estate. |
b. With
frown,
hiss,
hoot,
shout,
talk, etc.: to put down, reduce to silence, etc., by such action.
| 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. iii. i. 6 Here's a villaine that would face me downe He met me on the Mart. 1613 ― Hen. VIII, i. i. 20 The French shone downe the English. 1887 A. Birrell Obiter Dicta Ser. ii. 272 He was immediately frowned down by Mrs. Snagsby. |
c. Chiefly
Computing. Of a computer system, etc.: out of action, unavailable for use.
Cf. downtime and
up adv.2 13 b.
| 1965 AFIPS Conf. Proc. XXVII. 221/1 This situation arises when the system goes down before the file system has updated its assignment tables. 1971 Ibid. XXXVIII. 215/1 A critical situation is created when Sam [sc. supervisor in active mode] goes down. 1978 Sci. Amer. July 64/1 The usual short-distance transmission system is designed so as to ensure that it is ‘down’ no more than two hours per year. 1982 Times 23 Aug. 13/2 The phrase ‘the computer's down again’ is still exasperatingly familiar among data and information processors. |
18. Into or in low spirits;
to be down, to be downcast or depressed.
colloq.| 1610 B. Jonson Alch. iv. vii, Thou art so downe vpon the least disaster! c 1620 Z. Boyd Zion's Flowers (1855) 113 Men's hearts are downe. 1782 Johnson Let. to Mrs. Thrale 4 June, When I prest your hand at parting I was rather down. 1865 Thoreau Cape Cod x. (1894) 315 The Captain is rather down about it, but I tell him to cheer up. |
19. To smaller size or bulk; to minute particles; to a finer consistency.
| 1675 Wood Life (Oxf. Hist. Soc.) II. 327 He..melted it [New Coll. plate] downe. 1731 Arbuthnot Aliments (J.) To be boiled down..to a sapid fat. 1816 Keatinge Trav. (1817) I. 50 Ground down into dust. 1865 Lyell Elem. Geol. (ed. 6) 25 Wearing down into a fine powder. 1890 Abney Treat. Photogr. (ed. 6) 76 The..liquid is..thinned down to proper fluidity. |
20. From a roused, excited, or violent state; into or in a state of subsidence or calm.
| 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. iii. 8 Downe fell his angry mood. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. ii. iii. 60 If the winde were downe. 16.. Progr. Honesty vii. 9 You whose insipid Palat's down, Failing to relish. 1798 Coleridge Anc. Mar. ii. vi, Down dropt the breeze. 1814 S. Rogers Jacquel. ii. 55 To walk his troubled spirit down. |
21. Into a weaker, milder, or less pronounced quality;
e.g. to soften down,
tone down: see the verbs.
| 1816 Keatinge Trav. (1817) I. 250 Time softens down things by unobserved degrees. 1832 Gen. P. Thompson Exerc. (1842) II. 42 Tamed down into as harmless and beneficent a sect as the Quakers. |
22. slang. Aware, ‘wide-awake.’ (See also 27 a.)
| 1812 J. H. Vaux Flash Dict., Down, sometimes synonymous with awake, as when the party you are about to rob, sees or suspects your intention, it is then said that the cove is down. 1812 Sporting Mag. XXXIX. 285 He supposed he was down (had knowledge of it). 1817 Ibid. L. 201 Down as a nail. 1850 Smedley Frank Fairl. iv. (Farmer) You're down to every move, I see, as usual. |
VI. With ellipsis of a verb: so that
down itself functions for the verbal phrase. (But uninflected, and therefore used only for imperative and infinitive after auxiliary verbs. Hence
down v.
2)
23. With ellipsis of
come,
go,
sit,
kneel,
lie.
| c 1388 in Wyclif's Sel. Wks. III. 472 His proude clerkis schal downe with ther pride. c 1400 Rom. Rose 5868 Doune shalle the castelle every dele. 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. xx. vii, The warre which may sone aryse And wyl not downe. 1535 Coverdale Ezek. xxxii. 19 Downe..and laye the with the vncircumcised. 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. iv. i. 363 Downe therefore, and beg mercy of the Duke. 1636 Sanderson Serm. II. 53 Yet down it must, subdued it must be. 1671 Milton Samson 322 Down reason then, at least vain reasonings down. 1847 Marryat Childr. N. Forest iii. Down, Smoker, good dog! 1885 R. Bridges Nero i. i, That house of Rufus That blocks the way must down. |
24. With ellipsis of
go, in sense ‘be swallowed.’
lit. and
fig.| 1580 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 303 There was no broth that would downe, but of hir making. 1581 G. Pettie Guazzo's Civ. Conv. To Rdr. (1586) A vj b, Nothing will downe with them but French, Italian, or Spanish. 1692 Locke Educ. §14 (R.) If he be hungry more than wanton, bread alone will down. c 1708 Swift Baucis & Philemon 143 Plain Goody would no longer down; 'Twas Madam, in her grogram gown. |
25. a. With ellipsis of
put, etc.
| 1820 Byron Blues ii. 115 And down Aristotle! c 1860 H. Stuart Seaman's Catech. 6 What is the necessary precaution at the word ‘down oars’? 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Down oars!..Down with the helm! 1875 Bedford Sailor's Pocket Bk. vi. (ed. 2) 215 If caught in a hard sudden squall, down helm at once. |
b. In same sense,
down with:
esp. in commands. (
Cf. away with.)
| 1535 Coverdale Ps. cxxxvi[i]. 7 Downe with it, downe with it, euen to the grounde. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. iv. i. 2 Shrinke not, but down with 'em. 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. i. 19 Down with all Hammocks and Cabins. 1708 Motteux Rabelais iv. xxiii. (1737) 98 Down with your Sails. 1820 Shelley Œdipus i. 323 Long live Iona! down with Swellfoot! 1856 C. Mackay Songs for Music, Emigrants x. i, Down with the lords of the forest! [i.e. trees.] |
c. down charge: the order given to a setter or pointer in training to drop when the game rises and the shot is fired. So as
n. and v.;
down-charging vbl. n.| 1833 New Sporting Mag. V. 259/1 Some sportsmen..make him down charge when the bird is missed. Ibid. 260/1 Call out directly, ‘Down charge!’ 1848 W. N. Hutchinson Dog Breaking ii. §21. 14 Your left arm..should make the young dog lie down (for the ‘down charge’). 1859 ‘Stonehenge’ Shot-gun & Sporting Rifle ii. i. 129 He puts up the birds, calling out ‘Down charge’ at the same moment in a loud voice. 1886 Ld. Walsingham et al. Shooting I. 324 His obedience to ‘down charging’ being frequently enforced. Ibid. 334 Provided the dog is fairly cured of chasing, taught to ‘down-charge’, find, return, and keep at heel. |
26. Used in ballad refrains, without appreciable meaning. (
Cf. down n.3 1.)
| 1598 Shakes. Merry W. i. iv. 44 I doubt he be not well, that hee comes not home: and downe, downe, adowne'a, &c. 1602 ― Ham. iv. v. 170 You must sing downe a-downe, and you call him a-downe-a. ? 17.. Robin Hood & Bishop in Evans O.B. (1784) I. xix. 102 Come, gentlemen all, and listen a-while, With a hey down, down and a-down. a 1845 Hood Compass xiii, Down, down, a dreary derry down. |
VII. Phrases.
27. down on.
a. to be down on (upon): to be aware of, to understand, to be ‘up to’.
slang. See 22.
| 1793 J. Pearson Polit. Dict., Egad, the Baronet was down upon it. 1811 Sporting Mag. XXXVII. 76 Was down upon him, and clearly up to his gossip. 1865 G. Berkeley Life, etc. II. 103 (Farmer) I said..‘I'm down on it all: the monkey never bit your dog.’ |
b. to be down on (upon): to fall upon, pounce upon, assail, attack (from a superior position).
| 1815 Scott Guy M. xxviii, I think we should be down upon the fellow one of these darkmans, and let him get it well. 1845 James A. Neil vi, We were out from the alders in a minute, down upon them. 1885 Mrs. E. Lynn Linton Christ. Kirkland II. vi. 196 The critics would have been down on the author as an absurd bungler. |
c. to be down on: to be opposed to; to show or express disapproval of. Chiefly
U.S.| 1851 Alta California 5 Aug., Here the factory girls appear to be down on the style. 1854 Daily Calif. Chron. 26 Sept., To refuse payment of the trifling bills of a few journals who had latterly perhaps been down on them. 1874 ‘Mark Twain’ Sk. New & Old (1875) 205, I was down on sich doin's. 1883 ― Life on Miss. 268 If there's one thing an alligator is more down on than another, it's being dredged. 1902 W. James Var. Relig. Exper. xiv. 335 Some persons..glory in saying that they are ‘down’ on religion altogether. 1903 McClure's Mag. Nov. 92 I'm down on grafting mayors and grafting office-holders. 1931 V. Palmer Separate Lives 111 ‘They're down on her for some reason or other,’ he told himself. ‘Angry, most likely, because she's hung on to her boy.’ |
28. down to.
a. to be down to: to be attributable to (
cf. put down s.v. put v.
1 41 j).
| 1955 Times 5 Aug. 11/5 Wattam said: ‘It's down to me, the stamps and postal orders belong to me. They are nothing to do with the wife. I've done all the jobs.’ 1962 R. Cook Crust on its Uppers i. 24 Obscurely it's all down to Mum, who certainly does..seem to have dragged him up a bit strange. 1985 Sunday Tel. 26 May 11/6 The boom in Gucci and Pucci and..Lacoste ‘names’ on clothes, bags and other ornamentation is all down to the Yuppies. |
b. to be down to: to be the responsibility of, to be incumbent upon;
= up to s.v. up adv.2 19 d.
| 1970 P. Laurie Scotland Yard 289 Down to:..X is down to Y = X is Y's responsibility. 1986 City Limits 16 Oct. 41 The clothes are by Jean-Paul Gaultier, the basslines are by Blackmon, and the dancing is down to you. |
29. down along: in, or to, the West Country. Also
attrib., and n. (
= the West Country).
dial. and
slang (see
quot. 1929).
| 1871 Kingsley At Last i, Their faces lighted up at the old pass-word of ‘Down-Along’; for whosoever knows Down-Along, and the speech thereof, is at once a friend and a brother. 1899 Westm. Gaz. 12 Jan. 3/3 The people of the ‘down-along’ country are slow in putting thoughts into words. 1905 E. Phillpotts Secret Woman iii. xiii, Henceforth I shall come down-along once a year to visit you. 1907 Westm. Gaz. 18 Dec. 4/2 In his ‘Devonshire Characters’..there is a true tang of ‘Down-along’ in every page. 1929 F. C. Bowen Sea Slang 40 Down along, sailing coastways down Channel. |
30. down east (
U.S.): into or in the eastern sea-coast districts of New England,
esp. Maine. Also as
adj. and n. Hence
down-easter. Also
transf.| 1825 [see away adv. 11 b]. 1825 J. Neal Bro. Jonathan I. 28 A little boy from ‘down-east’. a 1828 J. Bernard Retrosp. 37 This curious class of mammalia, the ‘Down-Easter’ as it is often called. Ibid. 240 He had lately quitted ‘Down East’, and was coming South. 1829 Mass. Spy 25 Nov. (Th.), ‘Where the deuce is Dennis [a town]?’ ‘Oh, down east.’ 1830 S. Smith Major Downing 1, Some of the down-east antiquaries. 1835 J. H. Ingraham South-West I. xv. 161 Miserable-looking sloops and schooners, compared to which, our ‘down easters’ are packet ships. 1837 W. Irving Capt. Bonneville I. 110 A party of regular ‘down-easters’, that is to say, people of New England. 1843 Ainsworth's Mag. IV. 426 This old lass lived ‘down east’ near Chiselhurst. 1867 O. W. Holmes Guard. Angel viii. (1891) 87 He actually had the down-east city called after it. 1883 Harper's Mag. Nov. 938/2 This was originated by down-east men. 1924 R. Clements Gipsy of Horn 84 If this ship was a ‘down-easter’ she'd be flauntin' a main-royal. 1945 J. C. Colcord Sea Lang. 68 Down East, a general term for Maine and the Maritime Provinces of Canada... A ‘down-easter’ may be either a person or a vessel hailing from that region. 1948 W. Stevens Let. 2 Apr. (1967) 582 We are too close to that severe Down East that is Labrador. |
31. down south: into or in the south; in
U.S. down the Mississippi; into or in the Southern States.
| 1852 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xii, ‘Taking her down south?’ said the man. Haley nodded and smoked on. Mod. He is now in Newcastle, but is coming down south next week. |
32. down to the ground (
colloq.): thoroughly, completely.
| 1867 R. Broughton Cometh up as a Flower xxvi, Suited me down to the ground. 1889 T. A. Trollope What I remember III. 289 The occupation..suited my tastes and habits ‘down to the ground’, as the modern slang phrase has it. |
33. down to earth: back to reality. Also
freq. down-to-earth adj. phr., interested in everyday affairs; not affectedly superior; realistic; ordinary. So
down-to-earth(i)ness.
| 1930 Wodehouse Very Good, Jeeves! i. 29, I had for some little time been living, as it were, in another world. I now came down to earth with a bang. 1932 Canadian Forum Feb. 193/3 This book is full of such ‘down to earth’ observations. 1934 M. Hodge Wind & Rain i. ii. 37 She's awfully ‘down to earth’, you know. 1943 J. S. Huxley Evol. Ethics viii. 64 The general moral principle of evolutionary purpose can come down to earth in the concrete task of achieving minimum planning. 1956 Essays by Divers Hands XXVIII. 80 There is still a down-to-earthness in the phrasing. 1956 L. E. Jones Edwardian Youth ii. 55 Julian [Grenfell] had a passion for red-blooded down-to-earthiness. 1958 X. Fielding Corsair Country viii. 163 So I call for the bill. Which brings us down to earth with an ugly thud. 1961 Daily Tel. 12 May 14/2 Dame Irene Ward's hope that the committee..will include ‘some down-to-earth people who know something about what goes on’. 1969 Listener 6 Feb. 189/2 This down-to-earthness most literally strikes home in the anchoring of the play to an actual place. |
34. down at heel,
down in the hips,
down on (or
in)
one's luck,
down in the mouth: see the
ns. down with!: see 25 b.
VIII. 35. Comparative degree
† downer; also
† downermore (
obs.). Superlative: see
downmost.
| 13.. K. Alis. 6619 Ac the delfyn is more queynter, And halt him in the water douner. c 1391 Chaucer Astrol. ii. §12 As the sonne clymbith vppere and vppere, so goth his nadir downere and downere. c 1430 Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 4226 Dounermore the stroke went yet. 1435 Misyn Fire of Love i. x. 20 Bettyr it is..þat criste..to vs say, ‘frende, cum vppyrmare’, þen þat he say, ‘carl, go donyrmare’. |
IX. down- in combination.
36. In combination with verbs, both words having their ordinary meaning. (Stress on the verb.)
Such are
down-come,
down-cry (to cry down, decry),
† down-dagger,
down-darken,
down-droop,
down-go,
down-lay,
† down-peize (to weigh down, to compensate),
down-pour,
down-press,
down-run,
down-shear,
down-shower,
down-smite,
down-spring,
down-squat,
down-thring (to press down, crush),
down-throw,
down-trample,
down-tumble. Also
downbear, -cast, -lie, etc.
These are very doubtful combinations. In
ME., though occasionally written as one word, the adverb and verb were usually written separately,
e.g. doun come,
doun ryn, but are often hyphened by editors of modern editions,
e.g. doun-come,
doun-ryn. Modern instances are mostly poetical, being merely examples of inversion of the prose order of verb and adverb for metrical or rhetorical purposes (
e.g. he down-throws for
down he throws = he throws down); the hyphen seems, as a rule, unnecessary.
| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 1608 [He] saȝ A leddre stonden, and ðoron Angeles *dun cumen and up gon. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 4290 He sal do fire fra þe heven don com. |
| 1883 Besant All in Garden Fair ii. i, Those who..*downcried her beauty. |
| 1654 Gayton Pleas. Notes ii. i. 36 He let fly..and with one blow, confounded and *downe-dagger'd him. |
| a 1300 E.E. Psalter cvi. 26 Þai up stiyhen..And þai *doun ga. |
| 1611 Speed Hist. Gt. Brit. viii. iv. (1632) 404 The presence of the one, *downe-peized the absence of the other. |
| 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 7123 Þe water þat þan salle *doun ryn Ffra þair eghen. |
| a 1300 E.E. Psalter lxxiii. 6 Þaire yhetes with axes þai *doune schare. |
| 1844 Mrs. Browning Rom. Page xxxv, The boy *down-sprung And stood. |
| 1513 Douglas æneis i. v. 62 This Eneas..In Itale thrawart peple sall *doun thryng. 1558 Q. Kennedy Compend. Tractive in Wodr. Soc. Misc. (1844) I. 100 To invaid, oppres, and alluterlie dounthryng the Congregatioun. |
| 1581 N. Burne Disput. 43 b (Jam.) Inducing subiectis to oppress and *dounthrau their maisters. |
| 1878 Browning Poets Croisic 61 *Down-trampling vulgar hindrance. |
| 1628 Ford Lover's Mel. iii. i, One careless slip *down-tumbles him again. |
37. With present participle or
ppl. adj. These are practically unlimited in number, the use of the hyphen being merely syntactical. They have the stress usually on
down- when used as adjectives, on the radical element when used as participles. Examples are:
down-beaming,
down-crouching,
down-dragging,
down-drawing,
down-driving,
down-drooping,
down-dropping,
down-flowing,
down-going,
down-hanging,
down-rushing,
down-sloping,
down-stooping,
down-tumbling, etc. Also
downfalling, -looking, etc.
| 1868 Ld. Houghton Select. fr. Wks. 189 *Down-beaming from the brazen Syrian skies. |
| 1593 Bacchus Bountie in Harl. Misc. (Malh.) II. 263 To crase his crowne with a *downedriuing blow. 1840 Clough Dipsychus ii. v. 48 The deep plough in the lazy undersoil Down-driving. |
| 1900 Kipling in Daily Mail 1 May 4/5 A whispering Guardsman, half of whose larynx had been put out of commission by a *down-dropping bullet. 1936 W. Stevens Opus Posthumous (1957) 61 The same down-dropping fruit in yellow leaves. |
| 1784 Cowper Tiroc. 361 Graced With wig prolix, *down-flowing to his waist. |
| 1591 Sylvester Du Bartas i. v. 1012 As a wolf..Flyes with *down-hanging head. 1868 G. Stephens Runic Mon. I. 226 Another downhanging rope. |
| a 1821 Keats Fancy 65 Acorns ripe *down-pattering. |
| 1647 H. More Song of Soul ii. iii. iii. xxxvi, That strong *down-pulling centrall sway. |
| Ibid. i. iii. vii, Soft *down-sliding sleep. |
| 1837 Longfellow Frithiof's Homestead 3 The *down-sloping hill-sides. |
| 1780 Cowper Progr. Err. 177 Night, *down-stooping from her ebon throne. |
38. With past or passive participle or
ppl. adj. These also are unlimited in number, the hyphen being merely syntactical; the stress varies as in
prec. Examples are:
down-bent,
down-borne,
down-burnt,
down-dashed,
down-dropped,
down-pressed,
down-put,
down-thrown,
down-turned, etc. Also
downcast, etc.
| 1831 Carlyle Sart. Res. ii. iii, A *downbent, broken⁓hearted..martyr. 1882 L. C. Lillie Prudence 96 She kept her face passionately down-bent. |
| 1597 Warner Alb. Eng., æneidos 317 *Down-burnt Turrets. |
| 1832 Tennyson Œnone 55 With *downdropt eyes I sat alone. 1849 Clough Life & Duty vi. 13 With shrunk bodies and heads down-dropt. |
| c 1425 Found. St. Bartholomew's (E.E.T.S.) 27 Oure lord ihesu criste, the whiche losith stokkid men, reysith vp *downe pressid. 1623 Penkethman Handf. Hon. Epist., Like downe-prest Camomile, to spring. 1840 Carlyle Heroes iv. (1872) 130 That downpressed mood of despair. |
| a 1340 Hampole Psalter lxi. 3 Wall þat is withouten cyment *downput. |
| c 1600 Shakes. Sonn. lxiv, When sometime loftie towers I see *down-rased. |
39. With agent-noun (stress on
down-), as
down-crier,
down-lier,
down-puller,
down-setter. Also
down-comer, etc.
| 1878 Besant & Rice Monks of Th. 9 *Downcriers, enviers and backbiters. |
| 1656 S. Holland Zara (1719) 99 Up-risers and *Down-liers in this mighty City. |
| 1884 Edna Lyall We Two ii, A mere hater, a passionate *downpuller. |
| 1744 J. Paterson Comm. Milton's P.L. 386 *Down-setters; officers who set the dishes in good order upon the King's table. |
40. With verbal
n. (stress on
down-), as
† down-ganging,
down-going,
down-lighting,
down-pouring,
down-pulling,
down-putting,
down-rushing,
down-shedding,
down-sinking,
down-sitting. Also
down-coming, -falling, etc.
| 1641 Sir S. D'Ewes in Rushw. Hist. Coll. iii. (1692) I. 311 To add..but one Grain to the *down-balancing of the Affairs of Christendom. |
| 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 4779 Til þe tyme of þe son *doun-gangyng. |
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. de P.R. viii. xxviii. (Tollem. MS.) He [the sun] semeþ more in his arisinge and *doungoynge. 1846 Landor Exam. Shaks. Wks. II. 266 His down-goings and uprisings. |
| 1682 R. Hamilton Let. 22 Aug. in M. Shields Faithful Contendings Displayed (1780) 40 A *down pouring of the Spirit in his fullness, be your allowance. 1871 G. H. Napheys Prev. & Cure Dis. i. viii. 240 There should be a liberal down-pouring of carbolic acid. |
| 1631 Weever Anc. Fun. Mon. 431 This Priory Church..was preserued from..*downe pulling. 1831 Carlyle Sart. Res. ii. vii, In our age of Downpulling and Disbelief, the very Devil has been pulled-down. |
| c 1440 Hylton Scala Perf. (W. de W. 1494) ii. xxvi, *Downe puttyng and a-lowenge of his euencristen. c 1565 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (1728) 94 To them who were the occasion of his down-putting. |
| 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. II. v. i, The dust and *downrushing of a Bastille. |
| 1554 Knox Faythf. Admon. G vij b, Of Peters *downsynckynge in y⊇ sea. 1883 R. A. Proctor in Contemp. Rev. Earth Movem. Java, The upheavals and downsinkings. |
| 1535 Coverdale Ps. cxxxviii. 2 Thou knowest my *downe syttinge and my vprisynge. 1816 Scott Old Mort. iv, They drank out the price at ae dounsitting. |
| 1562 Winȝet Cert. Tractates i. Wks. 1888 I. 11 For the *dountramping of ydolatrie. |
41. With noun of action (stress on
down-), as
downbreak,
down-drag,
downflow,
downgrowth,
downlet, (
cf. outlet),
downshoot,
downslide,
down-step,
down-stroke, etc. Also
downcast n., -draught, etc.
| 1865 Livingstone Zambesi 596 They must prove a *down-drag, a moral millstone on the neck. |
| 1887 Gd. Words 758 The *downflow of air. |
| 1870 Rolleston Anim. Life 12 The hypapophysial *downgrowths. |
| a 1681 R. Allestree Forty Serm. i. 137 (L.) A *downlet to that bottomless pit. |
| 1926 D. H. Lawrence David xiii. 100 The *downslide of his hate is great. 1966 Listener 8 Sept. 337/2 A downslide in foreign confidence. |
| 1580 Sidney Arcadia (1622) 44 The verie first *down-step to all wickednes. |
| 1852 Dickens Bleak Ho. xxi, Every up-stroke and *down-stroke of both documents. |
42. Parasynthetic, as
down-backed,
down-faced,
down-rumped; also
downhearted, -looked.
| 1580 Hollyband Treas. Fr. Tong, Bossu, *downe backed, crooke-shouldered. |
| 1832 J. P. Kennedy Swallow B. xix, He was rather *down-faced and confused. |
| 1697 Lond. Gaz. No. 3300/4 A bay Gelding..a little *down Rumpt. |
▪ VI. down, prep. (
daʊn)
[down adv. construed with an object. Cf. adown as prep.] 1. a. In a descending direction along, through, or into; from top to bottom of; from a higher to a lower part of.
| 1508 Dunbar Flyting w. Kennedie 225 Than rynis thow doun the gait. 1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 51 Let us go downe this Hill into the Citie. 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, i. i. 57 Vntill it had return'd These tearmes of treason, doubly downe his throat. 1632 Milton Penseroso 107 Such notes as..Drew iron tears down Pluto's cheek. 1743 Bulkeley & Cummins Voy. S. Seas 145 Down his Sides, and all the Belly Part, is white Wool. 1895 Manch. Guard. 14 Oct. 5/6 The workmen have to be lowered by ropes down the face of the cliff. |
b. In reference to position: At a lower part of.
| 1769 De Foe's Tour Gt. Brit. I. 225 Three Miles down the River, are the Ruins. 1816 Keatinge Trav. (1817) I. 26 The wines produced down the course of the Rhone. Ibid. II. 229 In the timbered parts of France, down the Loire. |
c. down cellar: in the cellar or basement.
U.S.| 1805 Pocomtuc Housewife (1906) 47 Put in the soapgrease barrel down cellar. 1855 M. Thomson Doesticks x. 84 A patent medicine palace, with a..conservatory down cellar. 1870 ‘F. Fern’ Ginger-Snaps 142 When we place a young plant down cellar and shut out light and sunshine. 1871 Stowe Oldtown Fireside Stories 10 Ef ye should be down cellar, and the candle should go out, now? 1877 E. S. Ward Story of Avis 141, I wonder if it wouldn't help you out to go down cellar and stir the ice-cream. 1947 E. H. Paul Linden on Saugus Branch 131, I rushed down-cellar to get our lantern. |
2. a. Often with no implication of actual descent: To (or at) what is regarded as a lower part of; along the course or extent of.
up and down: see
up. Also
fig. (
e.g. of time;
cf. the
adv.).
| 1674 N. Cox Gentl. Recreat. i. (1677) 94 Some Hares will go up one side of the Hedge, and come down the other. 1726 G. Shelvocke Voy. round World (1757) 28 He weighed, and fell down the harbour. 1816 Keatinge Trav. (1817) I. 176 A steady north breeze..prevails all down this coast from the Straits. Ibid., In the progress down the coast. 1859 Jephson Brittany ii. 18 Down the middle [of the room] were two..tables. 1861 Lowell Poet. Wks. (1879) 423 The echoes..Like Odin's hounds, fled baying down the night. 1878 G. Dawson Serm. Disputed Points xv. 260 Shouting down the ages, ‘We did miracles!’ Mod. Traffic passing up and down the line. |
b. down (the) wind: In the direction in which the wind is blowing; also
fig.: see
wind.
c. down the course: said of a horse which is trailing some distance behind the leaders in a race.
| 1920 A. E. W. Mason Summons xx. 202 All our horses were down the course... They weren't running in their form at all. 1923 Daily Mail 11 Jan. 9 Certain horses which ran second or third in the great 'chase at Aintree were ‘down the course’ this week at Birmingham. Ibid. 5 Mar. 9 What about the big and powerful stables..whose horses are down the course one day and up the next, according to the betting? |
d. down home: at one's home, in one's native land or region; also as
n., one's homeland; hence (
usu. attrib. or adj.) used to designate something,
esp. jazz music or blues, that is down-to-earth and unpretentious.
colloq. (
orig. U.S.).
| [1828 J. H. Newman Jrnl. in Autobiogr. Writings (1956) v. 212 After a week's stay at Highwood, I went down home to Brighton.] 1931 Amer. Speech VII. 120 Down home [sc. in eastern Idaho] is Utah. 1938 N.Y. Amsterdam News 12 Mar. 17 Almost primal emotions, hangover from the old ‘down home house rent strut’ days. 1958 J. C. Holmes Horn (1959) 85 Maybe later pick up gigs with a downhome band. 1966 Melody Maker 7 May 14/5 A measure of worldly success has not ruined their nakedly emotional down-home style. |
e. down the line: in various
lit. and
fig. senses (see
quots.). Also (with hyphens)
attrib.: from one end to the other, at every point (see also
quot. 1959).
| 1898 [see line n.2 26 b]. 1958 [see bolt n.1 15]. 1959 Chambers's 20th Cent. Dict. Suppl., Down-the-line, of a ballet-dancer, inconspicuously placed, unimportant. 1961 Webster, Down-the-line, all the way; to the end (supporting the party ticket right down-the-line) (a down-the-line union man). 1962 Listener 1 Mar. 364/2 To others the risk is rather that consultative arrangements down the line may reinforce industry's very British predilection for cosy little get-togethers. Ibid. 15 Mar. 469/2 The view of many present-day mathematicians who would want to overhaul our methods all down the line. 1962 Economist 9 June 1000/1 Mr. Yarborough described himself as a ‘down-the-line supporter’ of President Kennedy. 1967 Listener 31 Aug. 264/1 The authorities are trying to substitute, for tight central guidance, disciplines that will ensure some down-the-line control. |
f. down the road: in the future.
U.S. colloq.| 1964 Mrs. L. B. Johnson White House Diary 17 Nov. (1970) 204 It was a sad good-by for all of us. But one good thing, we know we'll always be seeing each other down the road. 1974 G. F. Newman Price 15 Thirty years down the road in a maximum security prison. 1979 Arizona Daily Star 22 July i. 1/4 My dream is that sometime down the road we'll have students from all the nations of the world in this really non-political, non-sectarian framework. 1985 New Yorker 29 July 23/3 Mr. Murjani hopes to install a system resembling the electronic tellers used at banks... But this is a few years down the road. 1986 Washington Post 8 Aug. c12/4 I'd like to hold office myself someday, but that's down the road. |
3. The preposition and its object may be used as an
advb. or
attrib. phrase; as in
down-lock,
down-river, etc. (
Cf. up-country farmer.)
| 1645 Rutherford Tryal & Tri. Faith (1845) 321 Heaven is down-ground when faith seeth it; it is, when sight faileth us, toilsome, and up the mount. 1859 Sala Tw. round Clock 4 p.m. ¶9 (Farmer) A knot of medical students, who should properly..have a racing and down-the-road look. 1887 Pall Mall G. 24 Dec. 2/1 At one of the down-river offices. 1892 Labour Commission Gloss., Men engaged on canal-boats on their return journey to Liverpool from Leeds..are said to be engaged on the back passage or down lock. |
Senses 2 b–f become 2 c–g. Add:
[2.] b. Down at or down to (some place).
Cf. down home (sense 2 e below) and
up prep.2 6 c.
colloq. and (chiefly
south.)
dial.| 1899 C. Rook Hooligan Nights xx. 258 Five more splits met me jest at the right time down Clapham Common. 1911 I. A. Rosenblum Stella Sothern vi. 32 I'll just see if she is down the bail-yard. 1946 A. J. Holt Wheat Farms Victoria 79 Many of the menfolk do not use the latrine, being more content to go ‘down the paddock’. 1968 Melody Maker 30 Mar. 24/3 He just heard the news about Scotch and fags going up, went deathly white and rushed down the pub waving fivers. 1987 J. Mortimer Rumpole's Last Case 140 Judges who brief themselves for the accused are somewhat rare birds down the Bailey. |
[3.] downsun adv. and
a. orig. and chiefly
U.S., (taking place or situated) in the direction away from the sun; with one's back to the sun;
freq. in
Mil. contexts.
| 1956 W. A. Heflin in U.S. Air Force Dict. 175/1 Downsun,..in a direction away from the sun; with the sun at one's back. Also used as adj., as in ‘a downsun attack’. 1969 New Yorker 19 Apr. 76/3 Some of the Surveyor photographs that were taken away from the sun—or ‘downsun’, as Schmitt calls it—were washed out by it. 1979 F. K. Smith How to take Great Photographs x. 100 Take as many of the pictures as possible cross-sun or down sun. 1989 Air Forces Monthly Feb. 54/3 When the sun is a factor, the pass should be forced on the downsun side. |
▪ VII. down, v.1 rare.
[f. down n.2] trans. To cover or line with down, to render downy.
| 1602 Marston Ant. & Mel. iii. Wks. 1856 I. 34 O calme husht rich content..How soft thou down'st the couch where thou dost rest. 1742 Young Nt. Th. viii. 214 Their nest so deeply down'd, and built so high. |
▪ VIII. down, v.2 [f. down adv. in the elliptical uses under VI, the adv. having gradually received verbal inflexions.] 1. a. trans. To bring, put, throw, or knock down.
to down tools: to cease working, to go on strike. Hence
down-tools is used
attrib. to designate such action. Also
fig.| [1562 Turner Herbal ii. 23 The rootes..helpe to down furth the birth in tyme of labor. c 1586 C'tess Pembroke Ps. cxlvii. ii, To down proud wicked to the dust.] 1778 Johnson 29 Apr. in Boswell Life, He talked of one whom he did not know; but I downed him with the King of Prussia. 1780 ― Let. to Mrs. Thrale 11 Apr., Did you quite down her? 1852 R. S. Surtees Sponge's Sp. Tour xxvii, His horse..had downed him three times. 1889 Gunter That Frenchman xi, The masked wrestler having downed all the professional athletes. 1898 Westm. Gaz. 7 Apr. 6/3 The men..have ruined their position by..suddenly downing tools. 1915 Daily Express 4 Mar. 1/5 The ‘down-tools’ movement seems to have arisen spontaneously out of the engineers' dissatisfaction at not securing the twopence an hour increase when they asked for it. 1923 Daily Mail 3 Mar. 13 Yesterday some hundreds of men who did not receive their notice.. to ‘down tools’ on the previous day left their work. 1955 Times 22 June 11/6, I have been compelled..to employ the lazy and the inefficient at wages negotiated by their trade union, if not imposed under a down tools threat. 1958 Oxf. Mail 15 Jan. 1/2 He was ‘sincerely sorry’ to leave his job as Minister of Agriculture. ‘I hate downing-tools in the middle of a job.’ 1958 Punch 15 Jan. 109/1 More trouble seems to be brewing for the B.B.C., over complaints from manufacturers that after each half-hourly news bulletin workers down tools for five minutes to discuss it. 1969 Listener 1 May 614/1 The employer should not be able to impose sudden arbitrary action on the workers, the only remedy for which may be a down-tools strike. |
b. fig. To overthrow, to get the better of.
| 1898 H. S. Canfield Maid of Frontier 43 We will have trouble in finishing the gang after Harriott is downed. 1904 F. Lynde Grafters xviii. 233 ‘A determination to make my brag good.’ ‘To down the ring, you mean?’ ‘Yes; to down the ring.’ 1909 Westm. Gaz. 26 July 1/2 He sees a chance of ‘downing’ his political opponents. |
| 1925 W. Deeping Sorrell & Son i. i. §5 The thing is not to love your neighbour, but to be able to make it unsafe for him to try and down you. 1946 K. Tennant Lost Haven (1947) 7 He never missed an opportunity of downing Thorne, but Lost Haven continued to support the new store. 1970 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 25 Sept. 31/3 Luke Walker pitched a seven-hitter for his fifth successive victory as the Pirates downed Montreal Expos 8–0 last night. 1971 R. Price Permanent Errors ii. 100, I down my own need to stop him. I grant him the rest of his respite, reward. |
c. To drink down.
| [1860 O. W. Holmes Prof. Breakf.-t. 52 Give a fellah a fo'-penny bun in the mornin', an' he downs the whole of it.] 1922 C. E. Mulford Tex x. 145 Silently he poured out a drink and downed it mechanically. 1949 D. M. Davin Roads from Home iii. 44 John downed the two [drinks] that were waiting for him. 1954 Koestler Invisible Writing 321, I downed the sherry. 1967 W. Soyinka Kongi's Harvest 22 A waiter refills his glass; he downs it. Ibid., [He] downs the rest of his beer and calls for more. |
2. intr. To come or go down, to descend.
| 1825 Lady Granville Lett. (1894) I. 360 What an odd thing life is, and how it ups and downs, and ebbs and flows. |
3. to down upon, on: to come down upon, fall upon, assail as from a superior position.
| 1852 R. S. Surtees Sponge's Sp. Tour (1893) 95 He would down upon her at the second or third interview. 1884 Punch 6 Dec. 276/2 Prove that you value me by downing..on my enemies. |
4. to down with: to put or throw down; to have done with.
| [1599 Broughton's Lett. ix. 34 I dismisse you..with aduise to..downe with your traine, you Peacocke. 1659 D. Pell Impr. Sea Ded. 8 Let's down with swearing, if ever wee mean to prosper at Sea.] 1682 Hickeringill Wks. (1716) II. 20 Except they..down with their Dust, and ready Darby. 1713 J. Warder True Amazons (ed. 2) 54 They down with her House. 1884 St. James's Gaz. 22 Nov. 3/2 Another reason for downing with the House of Lords. |
▸
trans. U.S. colloq. To denigrate or disparage (a person);
= to put down v. 3b at
put v. Phrasal verbs 2.
| 1915M. Moore Let. 19 Dec. in Sel. Lett. (1997) 109 We had a discussion.., both Mr. Stieglitz and Mr. Kerfoot downing me saying that a haunting quality was not the earmark of good art—but of bad art. 1954 in Dict. Amer. Regional Eng. (1991) II. 164/1 Don't down me no more. 1970 Rolling Stone 28 May 34/2 My friends downed me for listening to country music. 1991 Pro Football Weekly Preview '91 Oct. 13/3, I don't down a guy for what he is. Tim does what works for Tim. |