DOWNWARDLY

down, downwards, downward, downwardly

(adverb) 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”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Adverb

downwardly (comparative more downwardly, superlative most downwardly)

In a downward direction

Antonyms

• upwardly

Source: Wiktionary


DOWNWARD

Down"ward, Down"wards, adv. Etym: [AS. ad. See Down, adv., and - ward.]

1. From a higher place to a lower; in a descending course; as, to tend, move, roll, look, or take root, downward or downwards. "Looking downwards." Pope. Their heads they downward bent. Drayton.

2. From a higher to a lower condition; toward misery, humility, disgrace, or ruin. And downward fell into a groveling swine. Milton.

3. From a remote time; from an ancestor or predecessor; from one to another in a descending line. A ring the county wears, That downward hath descended in his house, From son to son, some four or five descents. Shak.

Down"ward, a.

1. Moving or extending from a higher to a lower place; tending toward the earth or its center, or toward a lower level; declivous. With downward force That drove the sand along he took his way. Dryden.

2. Descending from a head, origin, or source; as, a downward line of descent.

3. Tending to a lower condition or state; depressed; dejected; as, downward thoughts. Sir P. Sidney.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

11 May 2025

MALLET

(noun) a light drumstick with a rounded head that is used to strike such percussion instruments as chimes, kettledrums, marimbas, glockenspiels, etc.


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Coffee Trivia

The first coffee-house in Mecca dates back to the 1510s. The beverage was in Turkey by the 1530s. It appeared in Europe circa 1515-1519 and was introduced to England by 1650. By 1675 the country had more than 3,000 coffee houses, and coffee had replaced beer as a breakfast drink.

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