Etymograph

English

down

Down comes from Old English dūne ‘down’, probably a shortening of adūne, earlier ofdūne ‘off the hill’, from dūn ‘hill’.

  1. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*dūnā1‘sandhill, dune’uncertain
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150dūn1‘hill’uncertain
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150ofdūne1‘down (lit. off the hill)’literally ‘off the hill’uncertain
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150adūne1‘down, downward’uncertain
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150dūne1‘down’aphetic form of adūne
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500doun1
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1725down1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English down
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1725, Philip Sidney, The works of the Honourable Sir Philip Sidney: “To down proud hearts that would not willing die.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*dūnāWiktionary, English down‘sandhill, dune’uncertain
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150dūnWiktionary, English down‘hill’uncertain
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150ofdūneWiktionary, English down‘down (lit. off the hill)’literally ‘off the hill’uncertain
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150adūneWiktionary, English down‘down, downward’uncertain
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150dūneWiktionary, English down‘down’aphetic form of adūne
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500dounWiktionary, English down
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1725downWiktionary, English down. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1725, Philip Sidney, The works of the Honourable Sir Philip Sidney: “To down proud hearts that would not willing die.”

The story

For the development from directional phrases to prepositions, compare Old Frisian dene (“down”, adverb, literally “(to the) floor”), Middle Low German dāle (“down, downwards”, literally “(in/to the) dale/valley”), whence German Low German dal (‘down’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- ‘to smoke, fume, raise dust’

steam, dye, funk, dew, dun, dune, dag, fume, thymus, obfuscate, fumigation, typhon, 27 more

through Proto-Germanic *dūnaz ‘heap, pile’

duvet, 1 more

Another origin of down

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dewh₂-‘to fit’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*duh₂-nósuncertain
  3. Proto-Celticc. 1300–800 BCE*dūnom‘stronghold, rampart’next step skipped: Proto-Germanic *dūnaz
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*dūnā‘hill’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150dūn‘hill, mountain’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500doune
  7. Englishtodaydown

Another origin of down

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰewh₂-‘smoke’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰuh₂nósreconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*dūnazreconstructed
  4. Old Norsec. 800–1350dúnn
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500doun
  6. Englishtodaydown

Today it means

adv From a higher position to a lower one; downwards.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “down”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-West Germanic *dūnā / down

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