{"id":2954,"date":"2023-09-09T13:14:32","date_gmt":"2023-09-09T13:14:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?p=2954"},"modified":"2023-09-09T13:14:33","modified_gmt":"2023-09-09T13:14:33","slug":"adventures-in-etymology-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?p=2954","title":{"rendered":"Adventures in Etymology &#8211; Down"},"content":{"rendered":"<div itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/AudioObject\"><meta itemprop=\"name\" content=\"Adventures in Etymology &amp;#8211; Down\" \/><meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2023-09-09T13:14:32+00:00\" \/><meta itemprop=\"encodingFormat\" content=\"audio\/mpeg\" \/><meta itemprop=\"duration\" content=\"PT2M36S\" \/><meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"In this adventure we\u2019re going down the rabbit hole and unearthing the origins of the word down.\n\n\n\nDown has various meanings, each of which has different roots. First let\u2019s look at down that means \u2018from a higher position to a lower one; facing downwa...\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/down.mp3\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"2.8\" \/><div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_3314\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-2954-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/down.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/down.mp3\">https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/down.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><\/div><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/down.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?powerpress_pinw=2954-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/down.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"down.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p><p>In this adventure we\u2019re going down the rabbit hole and unearthing the origins of the word <strong>down<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><a data-flickr-embed=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/oatsy40\/29798550505\/in\/photolist-MpcmUa-2jhGQUH-2mJqkJv-2oRKyrB-2mjpiVW-2ju2dbr-2mndumb-2mnQkN8-2jkKJmC-2hd9GNQ-2gZd3K1-2jLEUMN-2mnYJRz-2jtHTK8-2gTE4cC-2o3pWuh-2oW3Cwq-2gBFm3A-cREvpQ-2mixWZk-iGXXN-2jtGyMe-QTnQJS-2oww8eR-oKpobA-cxCP6S-2jpyD2N-2mn4KNF-2mLpcJh-2mbVNmw-2hmGPT1-8BSPgE-SRHyoG-2kgDJKk-2juJp8q-2juH9UB-PFcLVq-CQM4qK-puvrrY-2b84TSv-tu3EH-2jnXhop-2jnUr2x-d3ymUb-567Gzn-PFcLPd-2nDnPnf-dFotNt-2nDnVKh-5adg7u\" title=\"Thistle Down\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/8069\/29798550505_f3b74d8d09_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" alt=\"Thistle Down\"\/><\/a><script async src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><strong>Down<\/strong> has various meanings, each of which has different roots. First let\u2019s look at <strong>down<\/strong> that means \u2018from a higher position to a lower one; facing downwards, to knock down; a negative aspect\u2019, and various other things.<\/p>\n<p>This comes from Middle English <strong>doun<\/strong> [du\u02d0n] (down), from Old English <em>d\u016bne<\/em> (down), a form of <em>ad\u016bne<\/em> (down, downward), from <em>ofd\u016bne<\/em> [ov\u02c8du\u02d0.ne] (down &#8211; &#8220;of the hill\u201d), from Proto-Germanic <em>*d\u016bn\u01ed<\/em> (sand dune, hill), possibly from <em>*d\u016bnaz<\/em> (pile, heap), from PIE  <em>*d\u02b0ewh\u2082-<\/em> (smoke, mist, haze) [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/down#Etymology_1\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>Another meaning of <strong>down<\/strong> (especially in southern England) is a (chalk) hill, rolling grassland, a field, especially one used for horse racing, or a piece of poor, sandy hilly land near the sea covered with fine turf used mainly for grazing sheep.<\/p>\n<p>This comes from Middle English <strong>doun(e)<\/strong> [du\u02d0n] (hill, grass-grown upland, open country), from Old English <em>d\u016bn<\/em> (mountain, hill), from Proto-Germanic <em>*d\u016bn\u01ed<\/em> (sand dune, hill), probably from Proto-Celtic <em>*d\u016bnom<\/em> (stronghold, rampart), from PIE  <em>*duh\u2082-n\u00f3s<\/em> (lasting, durable), or from <em>*d\u02b0ewh\u2082-<\/em> (smoke, mist, haze) [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/down#Etymology_2\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>Words from the same roots include <strong>d\u00f9n<\/strong> (heap, fort, town) in Scottish Gaelic, <strong>dinas<\/strong> (city) in Welsh, <strong>town<\/strong> and <strong>dune<\/strong> in English, <strong>tuin<\/strong> (garden, yard) in Dutch, and <strong>Zaun<\/strong> (fence) in German [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/Reconstruction:Proto-Celtic\/d%C5%ABnom\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p><strong>Down<\/strong> can also refer to soft, fluffy feathers that grow on young birds, and that are used as insulating material in duvets, sleeping bags and jackets, and soft hairs on plants or people\u2019s faces.<\/p>\n<p>This comes from Middle English <em>doun<\/em> (soft feathers of birds, down), from Old Norse <em>d\u00fann<\/em> (down), from Proto-Germanic <em>*d\u016bnaz<\/em> (pile, heap), from PIE  <em>*d\u02b0ewh\u2082-<\/em> (smoke, mist, haze) [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/down#Etymology_3\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>So all the different senses of <strong>down<\/strong> might ultimately come from the same PIE root, but arrived in modern English via different routes. So try not to feel down when up on the downs in a down jacket because that would be a bit of a downer.<\/p>\n<p>Incidentally, we used to call duvets <strong>slumberdowns<\/strong> in my family. I thought that was their name, but later discovered that other people have different names for them, such as <strong>duvet<\/strong> or <strong>continental quilt<\/strong>.  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.slumberdown.co.uk\/\">Slumberdown<\/a> is in fact the name of the company that makes them. They&#8217;re apparently called <strong>comforters<\/strong> or <strong>quilts<\/strong> in North America, <strong>doonas<\/strong> in Australia, and <strong>ralli quilts<\/strong> or <strong>razai<\/strong> in India and Pakistan. What do you call them? [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Duvet\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>I also write about words, etymology and other language-related topics on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/\">Omniglot Blog<\/a>, and I explore etymological connections between Celtic languages on the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/\">Celtiadur<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>You can also listen to this podcast on: <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/gb\/podcast\/radio-omniglot\/id1432641094\">Apple Podcasts<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/music.amazon.com\/podcasts\/8b1b1d1b-b39e-4277-b28d-479a3b5043b3\/radio-omniglot\">Amazon Music<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stitcher.com\/podcast\/radio-omniglot\">Stitcher<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/tunein.com\/podcasts\/Education-Podcasts\/Radio-Omniglot-p1154145\/\">TuneIn<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.podchaser.com\/podcasts\/radio-omniglot-716327\">Podchaser<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/player.fm\/series\/radio-omniglot\">PlayerFM<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/podtail.com\/da\/podcast\/radio-omniglot\/\">podtail<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>If you would like to support this podcast, you can make a donation via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/uk\/cgi-bin\/webscr?cmd=_flow&amp;SESSION=aLjPfXL-vP_1gQ_U23Iz8_hSWLlhzLHPMFZrt32dIEfG8htoNFLYaPoWkv8&amp;dispatch=5885d80a13c0db1f8e263663d3faee8def8934b92a630e40b7fef61ab7e9fe63\">PayPal<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/omniglot\">Patreon<\/a>, or <a href=\"http:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/donations.htm\">contribute to Omniglot in other ways<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Radio Omniglot podcasts are brought to you in association with <a href=\"https:\/\/blubrry.com\/services\/podcast-hosting\/?code=omniglot\">Blubrry Podcast Hosting<\/a>, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code <strong>omniglot<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.japanesepod101.com\/member\/go.php?r=759259&amp;i=b0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/images\/banners\/banner_japanesepod.jpg\" alt=\"The Fastest Way to Learn Japanese Guaranteed with JapanesePod101.com\" width=\"630\" height=\"83\"><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/AudioObject\"><meta itemprop=\"name\" content=\"Adventures in Etymology &amp;#8211; Down\" \/><meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2023-09-09T13:14:32+00:00\" \/><meta itemprop=\"encodingFormat\" content=\"audio\/mpeg\" \/><meta itemprop=\"duration\" content=\"PT2M36S\" \/><meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"In this adventure we\u2019re going down the rabbit hole and unearthing the origins of the word down.\n\n\n\nDown has various meanings, each of which has different roots. First let\u2019s look at down that means \u2018from a higher position to a lower one; facing downwa...\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/down.mp3\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"2.8\" \/><div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_3315\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-2954-2\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/down.mp3?_=2\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/down.mp3\">https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/down.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><\/div><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/down.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?powerpress_pinw=2954-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/down.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"down.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p><p>In this adventure we\u2019re going down the rabbit hole and unearthing the origins of the word down. Down has various meanings, each of which has different roots. First let\u2019s look at down that means \u2018from a higher position to a lower one; facing downwards, to knock down; a negative aspect\u2019, and various other things. This [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[98,47,20,56,24,4,58,55,64,1,57,59,5,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventures-in-etymology","category-dutch","category-english","category-etymology","category-german","category-language","category-middle-english","category-old-english-aenglisc","category-old-norse-dnsk-tunga","category-podcast","category-proto-germanic","category-proto-indo-european","category-scottish-gaelic","category-welsh"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2954"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2954\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2958,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2954\/revisions\/2958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}