King James Bible Dictionary

DOWN, noun

1. The fine soft feathers of fowls, particularly of the duck kind. The eider duck yields the best kind. Also, fine hair; as the down of the chin.

2. The pubescence of plants, a fine hairy substance.

3. The pappus or little crown of certain seeds of plants; a fine feathery or hairy substance by which seeds are conveyed to distance by the wind; as in dandelion and thistle.

4. Any thing that soothes or mollifies.

Thou bosom softness; down of all my cares.

DOWN, noun [G.]

1. A bank or elevation of sand, thrown up by the sea.

2. A large open plain, primarily on elevated land. Sheep feeding on the downs.

DOWN, preposition

1. Along a descent; from a higher to a lower place; as, to run down a hill; to fall down a precipice; to go down the stairs.

2. Toward the mouth of a river, or toward the place where water is discharged into the ocean or a lake. We sail or swim down a stream; we sail down the sound from New York to New London. Hence figuratively, we pass down the current of life or of time.

DOWN the sound, in the direction of the ebb-tide towards of the sea.

DOWN the country, towards the sea, or towards the part where rivers discharge their waters into the ocean.

DOWN, adverb

1. In a descending direction; tending from a higher to a lower place; as, he is going down

2. On the ground, or at the bottom; as, he is down; hold him down

3. Below the horizon; as, the sun is down

4. In the direction from a higher to a lower condition; as, his reputation is going down

5. Into disrepute or disgrace. A man may sometimes preach down error; he may write down himself or his character, or run down his rival; but he can neither preach nor write down folly, vice or fashion.

6. Into subjection; into a due consistence; as, to boil down in decoctions and culinary processes.

7. At length; extended or prostrate, on the ground or on any flat surface; as, to lie down; he is lying down

Up and down here and there; in a rambling course.

It is sometimes used without a verb, as down down; in which cases, the sense is known by the construction.

DOWN with a building, is a command to pull it down to demolish it.

DOWN with him, signifies, throw him.

DOWN, down may signify, come down or go down or take down lower.

It is often used by seamen, down with the fore sail, etc.

Locke uses it for go down or be received; as, any kind of food will down; but the use is not elegant, nor legitimate.

Sidney uses it as a verb, To down proud hearts, to subdue or conquer them; but the use is not legitimate.

DOWN-BED, noun A bed of down.

DOWNCAST, adjective Cast downward; directed to the ground; as a downcast eye or look, indicating bashfulness, modesty or dejection of mind.

DOWNCAST, noun Sadness; melancholy look.

DOWNED, adjective Covered or stuffed with down.

DOWNFALL, noun

1. A falling, or body of things falling; as the downfall of a flood.

2. Ruin; destruction; a sudden fall; or ruin by violence, in distinction from slow decay or declension; as the downfall of the Roman empire, occasioned by the conquests of the Northern nations; the downfall of a city.

3. The sudden fall, depression or ruin of reputation or estate. We speak of the downfall of pride or glory, and of distinguished characters.

DOWNFALLEN, adjective Fallen; ruined.

DOWNGYVED, adjective Hanging down like the loose cincture of fetters.

DOWN-HAUL, noun In seamens language, a rope passing along a stay, through the cringles of the stay-sail or jib, and made fast to the upper corner of the sail, to haul it down.

DOWNHEARTED, adjective Dejected in spirits.

DOWNHILL, noun Declivity; descent; slope.

And though tis downhill all.

DOWNHILL, adjective Declivous; descending; sloping.

A downhill greensward.

DOWNLOOKED, adjective Having a downcast countenance; dejected; gloomy; sullen; as jealousy downlooked

DOWNLYING, noun The time of retiring to rest; time of repose.

DOWNLYING, adjective About to be in travel of childbirth.

DOWNRIGHT, adverb

1. Right down; straight down; perpendicularly.

A giant cleft downright

2. In plain terms; without ceremony or circumlocution.

We shall chide downright

3. Completely; without stopping short; as, she fell downright into a fit.

DOWNRIGHT, adjective

1. Directly to the point; plain; open; artless; undisguised; as downright madness; downright nonsense; downright wisdom; downright falsehood; downright atheism.

2. Plain; artless; unceremonious; blunt; as, he spoke in his downright way.

DOWNRIGHTLY, adverb Plainly; in plain terms; bluntly.

DOWN-SITTING, noun The act of sitting down; repose; a resting.

Thou knowest my down-sitting and my uprising. Psalms 139:1.

DOWNTROD, DOWNTRODDEN, adjective Trodden down; trampled down.

DOWNTROD, DOWNTRODDEN adjective Trodden down; trampled down.

DOWNWARD, DOWNWARDS, adverb [See Ward.]

DOWNWARD, DOWNWARDS adverb [See Ward.]

1. From a higher place to a lower; in a descending course, whether directly toward the center of the earth, or not; as, to tend downward; to move or roll downwards; to look downward; to take root DOWNWARDS

2. In a course or direction from a head, spring, origin or source. Water flows downward toward the sea; we sailed downward on the stream.

3. In a course of lineal descent from an ancestor, considered as a head; as, to trace successive generations downward from Adam or Abraham.

4. In the course of falling or descending from elevation or distinction.

DOWNWARD, adjective

1. Moving or extending from a higher to a lower place, as on a slope or declivity, or in the open air; tending towards the earth or its center; as a downward course; he took his way with downward force.

2. Declivous; bending; as the downward heaven.

3. Descending from a head, origin or source.

4. Tending to a lower condition or state; depressed; dejected; as downward thoughts.

DOWNWEED, noun Cottonweed, a downy plant.

DOWNY, adjective [See Down.]

1. Covered with down or nap; as a downy feather; downy wings.

2. Covered with pubescence or soft hairs, as a plant.

3. Made of down or soft feathers; as a downy pillow.

4. Soft, calm, soothing; as downy sleep.

5. Resembling down.