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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Down \Down\, adverb [For older adown, AS. ad[=u]n, ad[=u]ne, prop., from or off the hill. See 3d {Down}, and cf. {Adown}, and cf. {Adown}.]
1. In the direction of gravity or toward the center of the earth; toward or in a lower place or position; below; -- the opposite of {up}.
2. Hence, in many derived uses, as: (a) From a higher to a lower position, literally or figuratively; in a descending direction; from the top of an ascent; from an upright position; to the ground or floor; to or into a lower or an inferior condition; as, into a state of humility, disgrace, misery, and the like; into a state of rest; -- used with verbs indicating motion.
It will be rain to-night. Let it come down. --Shak.
I sit me down beside the hazel grove. --Tennyson.
And that drags down his life. --Tennyson.
There is not a more melancholy object in the learned world than a man who has written himself down. --Addison.
The French . . . shone down [i. e., outshone] the English. --Shak. (b) In a low or the lowest position, literally or figuratively; at the bottom of a descent; below the horizon; on the ground; in a condition of humility, dejection, misery, and the like; in a state of quiet.
I was down and out of breath. --Shak.
The moon is down; I have not heard the clock. --Shak.
He that is down needs fear no fall. --Bunyan.
3. From a remoter or higher antiquity.
Venerable men! you have come down to us from a former generation. --D. Webster.
4. From a greater to a less bulk, or from a thinner to a thicker consistence; as, to boil down in cookery, or in making decoctions. --Arbuthnot.
Note: Down is sometimes used elliptically, standing for go down, come down, tear down, take down, put down, haul down, pay down, and the like, especially in command or exclamation.
Down, therefore, and beg mercy of the duke. --Shak.
If he be hungry more than wanton, bread alone will down. --Locke. Down is also used intensively; as, to be loaded down; to fall down; to hang down; to drop down; to pay down.
The temple of Her['e] at Argos was burnt down. --Jowett (Thucyd.). Down, as well as up, is sometimes used in a conventional sense; as, down East.
Persons in London say down to Scotland, etc., and those in the provinces, up to London. --Stormonth.
{Down helm} (Naut.), an order to the helmsman to put the helm to leeward.
{Down on} or {Down upon} (joined with a verb indicating motion, as go, come, pounce), to attack, implying the idea of threatening power.
Come down upon us with a mighty power. --Shak.
{Down with}, take down, throw down, put down; -- used in energetic command, often by people aroused in crowds, referring to people, laws, buildings, etc.; as, down with the king! ''Down with the palace; fire it.'' --Dryden.
{To be down on}, to dislike and treat harshly. [Slang, U.S.]
{To cry down}. See under {Cry}, verb (used with an object)
{To cut down}. See under {Cut}, verb (used with an object)
{Up and down}, with rising and falling motion; to and fro; hither and thither; everywhere. ''Let them wander up and down.'' --Ps. lix. 15.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Down \Down\, noun [Akin to LG. dune, dun, Icel. d?nn, Sw. dun, Dan. duun, G. daune, cf. D. dons; perh. akin to E. dust.]
1. Fine, soft, hairy outgrowth from the skin or surface of animals or plants, not matted and fleecy like wool; esp.: (a) (Zo["o]l.) The soft under feathers of birds. They have short stems with soft rachis and bards and long threadlike barbules, without hooklets. (b) (Bot.) The pubescence of plants; the hairy crown or envelope of the seeds of certain plants, as of the thistle. (c) The soft hair of the face when beginning to appear.
And the first down begins to shade his face. --Dryden.
2. That which is made of down, as a bed or pillow; that which affords ease and repose, like a bed of down
When in the down I sink my head, Sleep, Death's twin brother, times my breath. --Tennyson.
Thou bosom softness, down of all my cares! --Southern.
{Down tree} (Bot.), a tree of Central America ({Ochroma Lagopus}), the seeds of which are enveloped in vegetable wool.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Down \Down\ (doun), verb (used with an object) To cover, ornament, line, or stuff with down. [R.] --Young.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Down \Down\, noun [OE. dun, doun, AS. d[=u]n; of Celtic origin; cf. Ir. d[=u]n hill, fortified hill, Gael. dun heap, hillock, hill, W. din a fortified hill or mount; akin to E. town. See {Town}, and cf. {Down}, adverb & preposition , {Dune}.]
1. A bank or rounded hillock of sand thrown up by the wind along or near the shore; a flattish-topped hill; -- usually in the plural.
Hills afford prospects, as they must needs acknowledge who have been on the downs of Sussex. --Ray.
She went by dale, and she went by down. --Tennyson.
2. A tract of poor, sandy, undulating or hilly land near the sea, covered with fine turf which serves chiefly for the grazing of sheep; -- usually in the plural. [Eng.]
Seven thousand broad-tailed sheep grazed on his downs. --Sandys.
3. pl. A road for shipping in the English Channel or Straits of Dover, near Deal, employed as a naval rendezvous in time of war.
On the 11th [June, 1771] we run up the channel . . . at noon we were abreast of Dover, and about three came to an anchor in the Downs, and went ashore at Deal. --Cook (First Voyage).
4. pl. [From the adverb.] A state of depression; low state; abasement. [Colloq.]
It the downs of life too much outnumber the ups. --M. Arnold.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Down \Down\, preposition [From {Down}, adverb]
1. In a descending direction along; from a higher to a lower place upon or within; at a lower place in or on; as, down a hill; down a well.
2. Hence: Towards the mouth of a river; towards the sea; as, to sail or swim down a stream; to sail down the sound.
{Down the country}, toward the sea, or toward the part where rivers discharge their waters into the ocean.
{Down the sound}, in the direction of the ebbing tide; toward the sea.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Down \Down\, verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Downed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Downing}.] To cause to go down; to make descend; to put down; to overthrow, as in wrestling; hence, to subdue; to bring down. [Archaic or Colloq.] ''To down proud hearts.'' --Sir P. Sidney.
I remember how you downed Beauclerk and Hamilton, the wits, once at our house. --Madame D'Arblay.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Down \Down\, verb (used without an object) To go down; to descend. --Locke.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Down \Down\, adjective
1. Downcast; as, a down look. [R.]
2. Downright; absolute; positive; as, a down denial. [Obs.] --Beau. & Fl.
3. Downward; going down; sloping; as, a down stroke; a down grade; a down train on a railway.
{Down draught}, a downward draft, as in a flue, chimney, shaft of a mine, etc.
{Down in the mouth}, {Down at the mouth} chopfallen; dejected.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
down
adjective
1: being or moving lower in position or less in some value; "lay face down"; "the moon is down"; "our team is down by a run"; "down by a pawn"; "the stock market is down today" [ant: {up}]
2: becoming progressively lower; "the down trend in the real estate market" [syn: {down(a)}]
3: understood perfectly; "had his algebra problems down" [syn: {down pat(p)}, {mastered}]
4: extending or moving from a higher to a lower place; "the down staircase"; "the downward course of the stream" [syn: {down(a)}, {downward(a)}]
5: out; "two down in the last of the ninth" [syn: {down(p)}]
6: lower than previously; "the market is depressed"; "prices are down" [syn: {depressed}, {down(p)}]
7: shut; "the shades were down"
8: cut down; "the tree is down" [syn: {cut}, {cut down}]
9: not functioning (temporarily or permanently); "we can't work because the computer is down"
10: low in spirits; "lonely and blue in a strange city"; "depressed by the loss of his job"; "a dispirited and resigned expression on her face"; "downcast after his defeat"; "feeling discouraged and downhearted" [syn: {blue}, {depressed}, {dispirited}, {down(p)}, {downcast}, {downhearted}, {down in the mouth}, {low}, {low-spirited}]
11: the fractional price paid in cash at time of purchase; "the down payment"; "a payment of $200 down"
noun
1: soft fine feathers [syn: {down feather}]
2: (American football) a complete play to advance the football; "you have 4 downs to gain 10 yards"
3: English physician who first described Down's syndrome (1828-1896) [syn: {John L. H. Down}]
4: (usually plural) a rolling treeless highland with little soil
5: fine soft dense hair (as the fine short hair of cattle or deer or the wool of sheep or the undercoat of certain dogs) [syn: {pile}]
adverb
1: spatially or metaphorically from a higher to a lower level or position; "don't fall down"; "rode the lift up and skied down"; "prices plunged downward" [syn: {downwards}, {downward}, {downwardly}] [ant: {up}, {up}, {up}, {up}]
2: away from a more central or a more northerly place; "was sent down to work at the regional office"; "worked down on the farm"; "came down for the wedding"; "flew down to Florida" [ant: {up}]
3: paid in cash at time of purchase; "put ten dollars down on the necklace"
4: from an earlier time; "the story was passed down from father to son"
5: to a lower intensity; "he slowly phased down the light until the stage was completely black" [ant: {up}]
6: in an inactive or inoperative state; "the factory went down during the strike"; "the computer went down again"
verb
1: drink down entirely; "He downed three martinis before dinner"; "She killed a bottle of brandy that night"; "They popped a few beer after work" [syn: {toss off}, {pop}, {bolt down}, {belt down}, {pour down}, {drink down}, {kill}]
2: eat immoderately; "Some people can down a pound of meat in the course of one meal" [syn: {devour}, {consume}, {go through}]
3: bring down or defeat (an opponent)
4: shoot at and force to come down; "the enemy landed several of our aircraft" [syn: {shoot down}, {land}]
5: cause to come or go down; "The policeman downed the heavily armed suspect"; "The mugger knocked down the old lady after she refused to hand over her wallet" [syn: {knock down}, {cut down}, {push down}, {pull down}]
6: improve or perfect by pruning or polishing; "refine one's style of writing" [syn: {polish}, {refine}, {fine-tune}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
493 Moby Thesaurus words for "down": COD, Vandyke, actively, adown, ailing, air, alkali flat, all up with, alluvial plain, anthill, backset, bad, barrow, basin, beard, beat, beaten, beaver, bedfast, bedridden, below, below par, best, bested, blow down, blow over, blubber, blue, booked, bottomland, bowed-down, bowl down, bowl over, brae, breeze, bring down, bristles, bubble, bulldog, bushveld, butte, butter, campo, carry off, cascade, cash, cash down, cash on delivery, cast down, cataract, chaff, champaign, champaign country, check, chip, chop down, chute, clay, coastal plain, cobweb, collapse, collapsing, come down, comedown, completed, completely, concluded, confined, confounded, conquer, consume, cork, crash, critically ill, cushion, cut down, cut off, daintiness, dash down, dashed, debacle, deciduous, deck, declension, declination, declining, declivitous, decurrent, defeated, defluxion, dejected, delicacy, delta, depressant, depressed, depressing, depressive, descend, descendant, descending, descension, descent, desert, despairing, despondent, desponding, destroy, devour, digest, dip down, discomfited, discomfiture, discouraged, discouraging, disheartened, disheartening, dispatch, dispirited, dispiriting, dispose of, disregard, documented, done, done for, done in, dough, down, down south, downbend, downcast, downcome, downcurve, downfall, downfalling, downflow, downgoing, downgrade, downhearted, downhill, downiness, downline, downpour, downright, downrush, downs, downsinking, downstairs, downstream, downstreet, downtown, downtrend, downturn, downward, downward trend, downwards, downwith, drooping, droopy, drop, drop down, drop off, dropping, drumlin, dune, dust, earlier, earnestly, earthward, eat, eat up, eiderdown, ended, enrolled, entered, ether, faint, faintish, fairy, fall, fall down, fall off, fallen, falling, feather, feather bed, feathers, feeling awful, feeling faint, feeling low, feeling something terrible, fell, fetch down, filed, filminess, fine-grainedness, fineness, finish, finished, fixed, flat, flat country, flatland, flats, flatten, fleece, floor, floored, floss, flue, fluff, fluffiness, foam, foothills, for real, froth, fully, fur, fuzz, fuzziness, get away with, get down, go down, go downhill, goatee, gossamer, gossameriness, grass veld, grassland, gravitate, gravitation, ground, heartless, heath, hew down, hill, hillock, hipped, hors de combat, hospitalized, hummock, hurdle, hypochondriac, hypochondriacal, ignore, ill, imperial, in childbed, in danger, in hospital, in low spirits, in the depths, in the doldrums, in the dumps, inclination, indexed, indisposed, inferior, ingest, inscribed, invalided, kapok, knob, knock down, knoll, laid low, laid up, lambasted, lande, languishing, lathered, lay level, lay low, lay out, legal, level, lick, licked, lint, liquidate, llano, logged, lose altitude, low, low-spirited, lower, lowest, lowland, lowlands, lunar mare, mare, master, mesa, mesilla, minuted, molehill, money down, monticle, monticule, moor, moorland, mortally ill, mote, mound, mow down, nether, not quite right, of record, off, off-color, official, on call, on demand, on file, on record, on the books, on the descendant, on the downgrade, on the skids, open country, oppressive, out of sorts, outdo, outdone, overborne, overcome, overmastered, overmatched, overpowered, overridden, overthrown, overturned, overwhelmed, pampa, pampas, panicked, parachute, pay-as-you-go, peach fuzz, peneplain, pessimistic, pile, pillow, pining, pipe, pitch, plain, plains, plateau, playa, plummet, plummeting, plunge, plunging, plush, pocket, pocket the affront, posted, pounce, pour down, prairie, precipitate, prostrate, pubescence, pudding, puff, pull down, put away, put to rout, putty, rain, rapids, rase, raze, recorded, refinement, registered, reversal, reverse, reverse of fortune, rocky, routed, rubber, ruined, sagging, salt flat, salt marsh, salt pan, sand dune, satin, satininess, savanna, scattered, scrag, sebkha, seedy, send headlong, setback, setting, settled, severe check, sick, sick abed, sick unto death, sickish, side whiskers, silenced, silk, silkiness, sinking, skinned, skinned alive, slack, sluggish, smoothness, softness, spiritless, sponge, spread-eagle, spume, stampeded, steppe, stomach, stoop, straw, strictly cash, stubble, subdued, subjacent, submerging, subsiding, suicidal, supinate, surmount, surround, swallow, swallow an insult, swansdown, swell, swoop, table, tableland, take, take down, take in, take off, taken ill, terminated, thistledown, through, through-and-through, throw, throw down, throwback, topple, tottering, tree veld, trend downward, trimmed, trip, trounced, tuck in, tuft, tumble, tumbledown, tundra, turn aside provocation, under, under the weather, undone, unwell, upland, upset, vega, veld, velvet, velvetiness, waterfall, wax, weald, weary of life, whack down, whelmed, whipped, whiskers, wide-open spaces, woebegone, wold, wool, world-weary, worst, worsted, written down, zephyr
From Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001) [jargon]:
down
1. adjective Not operating. "The up escalator is down" is considered a humorous thing to say (unless of course you were expecting to use it), and "The elevator is down" always means "The elevator isn't working" and never refers to what floor the elevator is on. With respect to computers, this term has passed into the mainstream; the extension to other kinds of machine is still confined to techies (e.g. boiler mechanics may speak of a boiler being down). 2. 'go down' vi. To stop functioning; usually said of the {system}. The message from the {console} that every hacker hates to hear from the operator is "System going down in 5 minutes". 3. 'take down', 'bring down' vt. To deactivate purposely, usually for repair work or {PM}. "I'm taking the system down to work on that bug in the tape drive." Occasionally one hears the word 'down' by itself used as a verb in this vt. sense. See {crash}; oppose {up}.
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:
down
1. Not operating. "The up escalator is down" is considered a humorous thing to say, and "The elevator is down" always means "The elevator isn't working" and never refers to what floor the elevator is on. With respect to computers, this term has passed into the mainstream; the extension to other kinds of machine is still hackish. 2. "go down" To stop functioning; usually said of the {system}. The message from the {console} that every hacker hates to hear from the operator is "System going down in 5 minutes". 3. "take down", "bring down" To deactivate purposely, usually for repair work or {PM}. "I'm taking the system down to work on that bug in the tape drive." Occasionally one hears the word "down" by itself used as a verb in this sense. See {crash}; opposite: {up}. [{Jargon File}] (1994-12-07)
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