down
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /daʊn/
ipa: /dʌʊn/
ipa: [dəu̯n]
ipa: /duːn/
rhymes: -aʊn
Forms: form: downs
form: downing
form: downed
form: downed
form: doon
Etymology: From Middle English doun, doune, from Old English dūne (“down”), aphetic form of adūne (“down, downward”), from earlier ofdūne (“down”, literally “off the hill”), from of (“of, off of”) + dūn (“hill, mount, dune, down”). More at Etymology 2 below. For the development from directional phrases to prepositions, compare Middle Low German dāle (“down, downwards”, literally “(in/to the) dale/valley”), whence German Low German dal (“down”). Compare also Saterland Frisian deel (“down”, literally “to/into the dale”).
Senses: examples: text: The storm downed several old trees along the highway.
text: A single rifle shot downed the mighty beast.
glosses: To knock (someone or something) down; to cause to come down; to fell.
examples: text: The helicopter was downed by a surface-to-air missile.
glosses: To knock (someone or something) down; to cause to come down; to fell.
Specifically, to cause (something in the air) to fall to the ground; to bring down (with a missile etc.).
examples: text: The bell rang for lunch, and the workers downed their tools.
glosses: To lower; to put (something) down.
examples: text: To down proud hearts that would not willing die.
ref: 1725, Philip Sidney, The works of the Honourable Sir Philip Sidney, kt., in prose and verse, London: W. Innys, →OCLC, page 156:
glosses: To defeat; to overpower.
examples: text: ‘I remember how you downed Beauclerk and Hamilton, the Wits, once at our House, – when they talked of Ghosts.’
ref: 1779, Frances Burney, Journals & Letters, Penguin, published 2001, page 141:
text: Now you have a social worker who downs women who are gay! […] I have met a woman and fell in love with her and I still get humiliated and discriminated against because he (social worker) is against homosexuality and is causing a lot of confusion here.
ref: 1986 April 12, anonymous author, “One Day I'll Write a Book on This”, in Gay Community News, page 3:
glosses: To disparage; to put down.
examples: text: ...that is, that the trade of the world is too little for us two, therefore one must down.
ref: 1933, Arthur Bryant, quoting Samuel Pepys (1664, February 2nd), Samuel Pepys: The Man in the Making, New York: Macmillan, →OCLC, page 215:
glosses: To go or come down; to descend.
examples: text: He downed an ale and ordered another.
text: After watching people downing drink on the train, I am in need of slaking my own thirst, so I pop into the station's Centurion Bar.
ref: 2022 November 30, Paul Bigland, “Destination Oban: a Sunday in Scotland”, in RAIL, number 971, page 75:
glosses: To drink or swallow, especially without stopping before the vessel containing the liquid is empty.
examples: text: He downed it at the seven-yard line.
topics: American-football
ball-games
football
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: To render (the ball) dead, typically by touching the ground while in possession.
examples: text: He downed two balls on the break.
topics: games
golf
hobbies
lifestyle
pocket-billiards
sports
glosses: To sink (a ball) into a hole or pocket.
Derived terms: double down
down tools
triple down