Down

Down, down, adv. from a higher to a lower position: on the ground: from earlier to later times: from thick to thin, from large to small (to boil down, to cut down): from more to less (to beat down a price).—prep. along a descent: from a higher to a lower position or state.—v.t. to knock down: to dispirit—also used as a kind of interjection, with get, go, come, kneel, &c. understood.—n. a tendency to be down upon, a grudge against: a descent, reverse of fortune.—v.i. Down′-bear, to bear or press down.—adj. Down′cast, dejected.—ns. Down′come, a fall, ruin, a heavy pour of rain; Down′-draught, a current of air downwards; Down′-east′er, one living 'down east' from the speaker, a New Englander, and esp. an inhabitant of Maine; Down′fall, fall, failure, humiliation, ruin: a falling down, as of rain.—adjs. Down′fallen, ruined; Down′-gyved (Shak.), hanging down like fetters.—n. Down′-haul, a rope by which a jib, &c., is hauled down when set.—adjs. Down′-heart′ed, dejected; Down′hill, descending, sloping.—n. Down′-line, the line of a railway leading from the capital, or other important centre, to the provinces.—adj. Down′looked (Dryden), downcast, gloomy.—ns. Down′-ly′ing, time of retiring to rest: a woman's lying-in; Down′pour, a heavy fall of rain, &c.—adv. Down′right (obs.), perpendicular: in plain terms: utterly.—adj. plain spoken: brusque: utter (as in downright madness).—ns. Down′rightness; Down′rush, a rushing down (as of gas, hot air, &c.); Down′-set′ting, a setting down, a snub; Down′-sit′ting, sitting down, time of rest (Ps. cxxxix. 2).—advs. Down′stairs, in, or to, a lower story; Down′-stream, with the current.—ns. Down′-throw, act of throwing down, state of being thrown down: a sinking of strata below the level of the surrounding beds; Down′-train, a railway train proceeding from the chief terminus.—adj. Down′-trodden, trampled on, tyrannised over.—advs. Down′ward, Down′wards, from higher to lower: from source to outlet: from more ancient to modern: in the lower part.—adj. Down′ward.—Down east (U.S.), in or into Maine and adjoining parts of New England; Down in the mouth, in low spirits; Down on one's luck, in ill-luck; Down south, in the southern states; Down to the country, away into the country, from London (hence 'down to the Derby,' 'down to Scotland'); Down with your money, lay it down, pay it.—A down-train, a train away from London.—Lay down the law, to expound authoritatively. [A corr. of M. E. a-dawn, adun—A.S. of dúne, 'from the hill'—A.S. dún, a hill.]