Dictionary

downright en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˌdaʊnˈɹaɪt/ as a postqualifier or at the end of a clause
• (General-American) audio
• /ˈdaʊnɹaɪt/
• /ˈdaʊnˌɹaɪt/

Etymology

The adverb is derived from Middle English dounright, dounriȝt (“right down, straight down; face down; vertically; used for emphasis: outright, downright”), and then either: * possibly an aphetic form of adounright (“straight down; directly, immediately (?)”), from adoun (“downward”, adverb) (from Old English adūn, adūne (“down, downward”, adverb), ultimately from dūn (“hill, mountain”), from Proto-West Germanic *dūnā, *dūnu (“hill; sand dune”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- (“haze, mist; smoke”)) + right (“direct; straight; etc.”, adjective) (from Old English riht (“straight; etc.”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- (“to straighten”)); or * from doun (“down, downward; etc.”, adverb) (from Old English dūne (“down”), ultimately from dūn (“hill, mountain”): see above) + right. By surface analysis, down (adverb) + right (adjective). The adjective and noun are derived from the adverb. Noun sense 1 (“low grade of wool”) may be from the obsolete adjective sense 2.2 (“in its most basic form; ordinary”).

Meanings

1. (figuratively) Absolute, complete.
   • For although in that ancient and diffuſed adoration of IdolLs, unto the Prieſts and ſubtiler heads, the vvorſhip perhaps might be ſymbolicall, and as thoſe Images ſome vvay related unto their deities, yet vvas the Idolatry direct and dovvne-right in the people, vvhoſe credulity is illimitable, vvho may be made believe that any thing is God, and may be made believe there is no God at all. 1646, Thomas Browne, “Of Credulity and Supinity”, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], London: […] T[homas] H[arper] for Edward Dod, […], →OCLC, 1st book, page 17:
   • People who are downright bad drivers should not handle a motor these days, when the roads are so crowded and dangerous. They are a menace to other persons as well as to themselves. 1934, J[ohn] B[oynton] Priestley, “To the West Riding”, in English Journey […], London: William Heinemann in association with Victor Gollancz, →OCLC, section 1, page 150:
   • The weather is raw and boisterous in winter, shifty and ungenial in summer, and a downright meteorological purgatory in the spring. 1879, Robert Louis Stevenson, chapter I, in Edinburgh: Picturesque Notes […], London: Seeley, Jackson, and Halliday, […], →OCLC, page 1:
   • 'I ſee his Deſign,' ſaid ſhe, 'for he made dovvnright Love to me Yeſterday Morning; but as I am reſolved never to admit it, I beg your Ladyſhip not to leave us alone together any more,[…]' 1749, Henry Fielding, “A Further Explanation of the foregoing Design”, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume V, London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book XV, page 214:
   • Ye're a' gait at ance, Annie Anderson. A doonricht rintheroot! [1865, George Mac Donald, chapter XI, in Alec Forbes of Howglen. […], volume II, London: Hurst and Blackett, publishers, successors to Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 99:
2. (figuratively) Of a person or their behaviour: direct, plain, straightforward; also, of speech: direct and unambiguous; blunt, to the point.
   • [T]hree Nights together he dreamt that he ſavv a Neighbouring Gentleman kiſſing his Miſtreſs, and in dovvnright Engliſh, lying with her. 1727, [Daniel Defoe], “Of the Present Pretences of the Magicians: How They Defend Themselves; and Some Examples of Their Practice”, in A System of Magick; or, A History of the Black Art. […], London: […] J. Roberts […], →OCLC, page 314:
   • And here an Admonition from a dead Author, or a Caveat from an Impartial Pen, vvhoſe Aim neither vvas, nor can be taken, as any particular By-Deſign, vvill prevail more, and have a better Effect, than a dovvn-right Advice; […] a. 1627 (date written), Francis Bacon, “Supplement XIII. The Prudent Statesman: Or, The Office of Prime Ministers. Section VIII.”, in Peter Shaw, editor, The Philosophical Works of Francis Bacon, […], volume II, London: […] J. J. and P. Knapton; […], published 1733, →OCLC, paragraph 113, page 209:
   • There were miners from Klondyke, hunters from the backwoods, troopers from the Northwest Frontier Police, and included were some of the "hardest cases" that the land of the maple leaf ever produced; these were past-masters in the use of unique expletives, and for downright and original profanity it would hardly be possible to find their equal. 1907, George [Ramsdale] Witton, “The Australians in Cape Town”, in Scapegoats of the Empire: The True Story of Breaker Morant’s Bushveldt Carbineers, Angus & Robertson Publishers, published 1982, →ISBN, page 35:
   • I love to pour out all myſelf, as plain / As dovvnright Shippen, or as old Montagne. 1733, Alexander Pope, The First Satire of the Second Book of Horace, […], London [actually Edinburgh]: […] L[awton] G[illiver] and sold by A. Dodd […], E[lizabeth] Nutt […], →OCLC, page 9:
   • The twisted trees and high tossed driftwood hinted that Skedans could be as thoroughly fierce as she was calm. She was downright about everything. 1941, Emily Carr, “Skedans”, in Klee Wyck (Clarke Irwin Canadian Paperback Series; CI 9), centennial edition, Toronto, Ont.; Vancouver, B.C.: Clarke, Irwin & Company, published 1971, →ISBN, page 19:
   • Her husband was evidently a sensible man, and he might have given his wife a little more sense than she could have derived from her downright father and her silly mother-in-law, who were really as great a pair of noodles as ever were exhibited in the pages of a modern novel, under the cognomen of "amiable rustics." 1838 (date written), L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XVIII, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 237:
   • [Y]our dovvne right Captain ſtill Ile lieve, and ſerve you, […] 1616–1619 (first performance), John Fletcher, Philip Massinger, Nathan Field, “The Knight of Malta”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1647, →OCLC, Act V, scene ii, page 93, column 2:
   • Harry is a simple downright fellow, and though I think he is my better in a broil, yet in discourse I can turn him my own way. 1828 May 15, [Walter Scott], chapter IV, in Chronicles of the Canongate. Second Series. […] (The Fair Maid of Perth), volume II, Edinburgh: […] [Ballantyne and Co.] for Cadell and Co.; London: Simpkin and Marshall, →OCLC, page 121:
   • The ſay this Angelo vvas not made by Man and VVoman, after this dovvne-right vvay of Creation: is it true, thinke you? c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i], page 73, column 2:
   • It bears the evident marks of having originally been, vvhat the honeſt and dovvnright Doctor Douglaſs aſſures us it vvas, a ſcheme of fraudulent debtors to cheat their creditors. 1776 March 9, Adam Smith, “Of Money Considered as a Particular Branch of the General Stock of the Society, or of the Expence of Maintaining the National Capital”, in An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. […], volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Strahan; and T[homas] Cadell, […], →OCLC, book II (Of the Nature, Accumulation, and Employment of Stock), page 396:
   • There is an openness, a quickness, almost a bluntness in Mr. Weston, which every body likes in him because there is so much good humour with it—but that would not do to be copied. Neither would Mr. Knightley's downright, decided, commanding sort of manner—though it suits him very well; his figure, and look, and situation in life seem to allow it; but if any young man were to set about copying him, he would not be sufferable. 1815 December (indicated as 1816), [Jane Austen], chapter IV, in Emma: […], volume I, London: […] [Charles Roworth and James Moyes] for John Murray, →OCLC, page 66:
   • That this paragraph will annoy the typical citizen of Hull, who prides himself upon being a plain and downright fellow, I have no doubt whatever; but he should give it a chance, for he is not so plain and downright as he woud have us believe, and neither is that city of his. 1934, J[ohn] B[oynton] Priestley, “To Lincoln and Norfolk”, in English Journey […], London: William Heinemann in association with Victor Gollancz, →OCLC, section 1, page 364:
   • Izumi Shikibu's Diary is written with extreme delicacy of treatment. English words and thought seem too downright a medium into which to render these evanescent, half-expressed sentences and poems—vague as the misty mountain scenery of her country, with no pronouns at all, and without verb inflections. 1920, Annie Shepley Omori, Kochi Doi, “Translators’ Note”, in Annie Shepley Omori, Kochi Doi, transl., Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton Mifflin Company […], →OCLC, page v:
3. (obsolete) Coming straight down; directed vertically.
   • Lord Staffords Father, Duke of Buckingham, / Is either ſlaine or vvounded dangerous. / I cleft his Beauer [bevor] vvith a dovvn-right blovv: / That this is true (Father) behold his Blood. c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i], page 147, column 1:
   • As his bodie bends / To iump from dovvne-right cliffes, compaſſionate / Apollo, vvith light vvings, preuents his fate: […] 1626, Ovid, “The Eleuenth Booke”, in George Sandys, transl., Ovid’s Metamorphosis Englished […], London: […] William Stansby, →OCLC, pages 224–225:
   • [S]aving the lack of your hand, a mischance beyond remedy, you ought rather to rejoice than to complain; for no barber-chirurgeon in France or England could have more ably performed the operation than this churl with one downright blow. 1828 May 15, [Walter Scott], chapter III, in Chronicles of the Canongate. Second Series. […] (The Fair Maid of Perth), volume II, Edinburgh: […] [Ballantyne and Co.] for Cadell and Co.; London: Simpkin and Marshall, →OCLC, page 97:
   • VVe thinke the heauens enioy their Sphericall / Their round proportion embracing all. / But yet their various and perplexed courſe, / Obſeru'd in divers ages doth enforce / Men to finde out ſo many Eccentrique parts, / Such diuers dovvne-right lines, ſuch overthvvarts, / As diſproportion that pure forme. 1611, [John Donne], An Anatomy of the World. […], London: […] [Humphrey Lownes the Elder?] for Samuel Macham. […], →OCLC, signature B2, recto:
   • This Hawkweede hath no deepe downeright roote, but ſheweth as though it were gnawen or bitten, lyke to the roote of Deuils bit, […] 1578, Rembert Dodoens, “Of Hawke Weede”, in Henry Lyte, transl., A Niewe Herball, or Historie of Plantes: […], London: […] [Henry [i.e., Hendrik van der] Loë for] Gerard Dewes, […], →OCLC, 5th part (Herbes, Rootes, and Fruites, whiche are Dayly Vsed in Meates), page 564:
   • And vvith that he gave him again, a dovvn-right blovv, and brought him upon his Knees. 1684, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress. From This World to That which is to Come: The Second Part. […], London: […] Nathaniel Ponder […], →OCLC, page 71:
   • Downeright ſtroke […] taille 1530 July 28 (Gregorian calendar), Iohan Palsgraue [i.e., John Palsgrave], “The Table of Substantyues”, in Lesclarcissement de la langue francoyse⸝ […], [London]: […] [Richard Pynson] fynnysshed by Iohan Haukyns, →OCLC, 3rd boke, folio xxx, recto, column 2; reprinted Geneva: Slatkine Reprints, October 1972, →OCLC:
   • Thoſe perſones, […] be auouched to bee like vnto trees, growyng on the edges or brinkes of clieffes and rockes of a downright pitche, or a ſtiepe down fall: the fruites of whiche trees no man could euer geat a taſte of, but theſame were from time to time, deuoured by the crowes and the rauens. 1564 February, Erasmus, “The Saiynges of Diogenes the Cynike”, in Nicolas Udall [i.e., Nicholas Udall], transl., Apophthegmes, that is to Saie, Prompte, Quicke, Wittie and Sentẽcious Saiynges, […], London: […] Ihon Kingston, →OCLC, book II, folios 98, verso – 99, recto, paragraph 161:
4. (figuratively, obsolete) Chiefly in downright money: in its most basic form; ordinary.
   • [T]he merchant's wife, next to her who abounds in plenty, is not to have downright money, but the mercenary part of her mind is engaged with a present of plate, and a little ambition. 1712 January 14 (Gregorian calendar), [Richard Steele], “THURSDAY, January 4, 1711–1712”, in The Spectator, number 266; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume III, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, page 329:

Forms

Synonyms

perfect · right-down · full-on · uncompromising · categoric · unevasive · utter · sheer · unattenuated · mere · straight-out · stark · pure · wholesale · unreserved · absolute · unqualified · prize · abject · outright · thoroughgoing · precious · clear · outright · thorough · full-blown · decided · downright · proper · unconditional · total · consummate · evendown · root and branch · unrestricted · full · frightful · unmitigated · regular · utter · arrant · clean · complete · right · rank · out-and-out · unmitigated · unalloyed · unadulterated · categorical · full-bore · unfettered

downright en · ADV

Pronunciation

• /ˌdaʊnˈɹaɪt/ as a postqualifier or at the end of a clause
• (General-American) audio
• /ˈdaʊnɹaɪt/
• /ˈdaʊnˌɹaɪt/

Etymology

The adverb is derived from Middle English dounright, dounriȝt (“right down, straight down; face down; vertically; used for emphasis: outright, downright”), and then either: * possibly an aphetic form of adounright (“straight down; directly, immediately (?)”), from adoun (“downward”, adverb) (from Old English adūn, adūne (“down, downward”, adverb), ultimately from dūn (“hill, mountain”), from Proto-West Germanic *dūnā, *dūnu (“hill; sand dune”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- (“haze, mist; smoke”)) + right (“direct; straight; etc.”, adjective) (from Old English riht (“straight; etc.”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- (“to straighten”)); or * from doun (“down, downward; etc.”, adverb) (from Old English dūne (“down”), ultimately from dūn (“hill, mountain”): see above) + right. By surface analysis, down (adverb) + right (adjective). The adjective and noun are derived from the adverb. Noun sense 1 (“low grade of wool”) may be from the obsolete adjective sense 2.2 (“in its most basic form; ordinary”).

Meanings

1. (figuratively, not-comparable) Completely, wholly.
   • VVhat then are thoſe monſtrous Extravagancies in your deportment to all perſons of vvhat quality ſoever? […] VVhich bold and impudent cuſtome, unleſs you vvere dovvn-right mad, you could never have taken up of your ſelves. VVherefore certainly ſome very vvaggiſh Maſter of the Ceremonies has taught you this ill manners, like him that inſtructed the Sheriff to keep on his Hat vvhen he accoſted the King. 1664, H[enry] More, “[The Apology of Dr. Henry More, […].] Chapter X.”, in Synopsis Prophetica; or, The Second Part of the Modest Enquiry into the Mystery of Iniquity: […], London: […] James Flesher, for William Morden […], →OCLC, page 562:
   • Familiar! Madam, in Troth he's dovvn-right rude. 1716 March 21 (first performance; Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison], The Drummer; or, The Haunted House. A Comedy. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson […], published 1716 (indicated as 1715), →OCLC, Act I, page 8:
   • VVe vvere deſcried, theyle mock vs novv dounright. c. 1595–1596 (date written), W. Shakespere [i.e., William Shakespeare], A Pleasant Conceited Comedie Called, Loues Labors Lost. […] (First Quarto), London: […] W[illiam] W[hite] for Cut[h]bert Burby, published 1598, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii], signature H3, recto:
   • He wasn’t just cool to me, he was downright rude.
   • The pure Drummond product, the four-cylinder 4-6-0 as built for the London & South Western, was a less successful design, and some of the specimens were downright bad. 1955 January, John W. Grant, “The Scottish Contribution”, in The Railway Magazine, London: Tothill Press, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 49:
   • If my friend had not given me the hint, damn me if I ſhou'd not think her dovvn right angry. 1787 February 10 (first performance), [Elizabeth] Inchbald, Such Things Are; […], London: […] G[eorge] G[eorge] J[ohn] and J. Robinson, […], published 1788, →OCLC, Act IV, scene i, page 47:
2. (archaic, figuratively, not-comparable) Of acts or speech: directly and unambiguously; clearly, plainly.
   • Mr. Halkett, […] told him downright that he had assisted at many weddings, but he had never the pleasure of supporting such a thorough "carry-me-out-and-bury-me-decently" looking article before. 1865, Florence Marryat, “The Happy Day”, in “Too Good for Him.” […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, pages 78–79:
   • Ros[alind]. Not true in loue? / Cel[ia]. Yes, vvhen he is in, but I thinke he is not in. / Ros. You haue heard him ſvveare dovvnright he vvas. c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iv], page 199, column 1:
   • VVell, 'tis not my Buſineſs to quarrel vvith her dovvn[-]right. 1741, [Samuel Richardson], “Letter XXXI”, in Pamela: Or, Virtue Rewarded. […], 3rd edition, volume I, London: […] C[harles] Rivington, […]; and J. Osborn, […], →OCLC, page 146:
3. (not-comparable, obsolete) Straight down; perpendicularly.
   • Than sousit dounright like the stern-shot light, / Fra the liftis blue casement driven. [1813 January 30, James Hogg, “Night the First. The Witch of Fife. The Eighth Bard’s Song.”, in The Queen’s Wake: A Legendary Poem, Edinburgh: George Goldie, […]; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, →OCLC, page 72:
   • In removing and tranſplanting young Oakes you muſt be ſure not to cut off or vvound that part of the root, vvhich deſcends dovvn-right (vvhich in ſome Countreys they call the tap-root) but dig it up to the bottome, and prepare your hole deep enough to ſet it: […] 1674, John Ray, “The Manner of Working the Iron at the Forge or Hammer”, in A Collection of English Words. Not Generally Used, with Their Significations and Original, […], London: […] H. Bruges for Tho[mas] Burrell […], →OCLC, page 129:
   • [Y]et there bee other difficulties that impeach their vvorke: for othervvhiles they meet vvith rocks of flint and rags, as vvell in undermining forvvard, as in ſinking pits dovvne right; vvhich they are driven to pierce and cleave through vvith fire and vinegre. 1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “[Book XXXIII.] The Manner of Finding Gold Naturally in the Mine. When were Knowne the First Statues of Gold. The Medicinable Vertues and Properties of Gold.”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the World. Commonly Called, The Naturall Historie of C. Plinius Secundus. […], 2nd tome, London: […] Adam Islip, →OCLC, page 467:
   • Cedentes capilli, heares [hairs] hanging down ryght. 1542, Thomas Eliot [i.e., Thomas Elyot], “Cedentes capilli”, in Bibliotheca Eliotæ: Eliotis Librarie, London: Thomas Berthelet, […], published 1545, →OCLC, signature H.ii., recto, column 1:
   • The three mates quailed before his strong, sustained, and mystic aspect. Stubb and Flask looked sideways from him; the honest eye of Starbuck fell downright. 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “The Quarter-deck”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 184:
   • He […] climb'd a ſtranded Lighter's height, / Shot to the black abyſs, and plung'd dovvn-right. 1728, [Alexander Pope], “Book the Second”, in The Dunciad. An Heroic Poem. […], Dublin; London: […] A. Dodd, →OCLC, page 29, lines 263–264:
4. (figuratively, not-comparable, obsolete) Immediately at that place and time; without delay; altogether, at once, then and there.
   • The reading of this Paper put Mrs. Bull in ſuch a Paſſion, that ſhe fell dovvnright into a Fit, and they vvere forc’d to give her a good quantity of the Spirit of Hartſhorn before ſhe recover’d. 1712, Humphry Polesworth [pseudonym; John Arbuthnot], “An Account of the Conference between Mrs. Bull and Don Diego Dismallo”, in John Bull in His Senses: Being the Second Part of Law is a Bottomless-Pit. […], Edinburgh: […] James Watson, […], →OCLC, page 18:
   • And, dear Lady G. he dovvnright kiſſed me—My lip; and not my cheek—and in ſo fervent a vvay—I tell you every-thing, my Charlotte—I could have been angry—had I knovvn hovv, from ſurprize. 1753 (indicated as 1754), [Samuel Richardson], “Letter XXXIV. Miss Byron. In Continuation.”, in The History of Sir Charles Grandison. […], volume V, London: […] S[amuel] Richardson; [a]nd sold by C. Hitch and L. Hawes, […], →OCLC, page 230:
   • This is the ſoul that I vvith preſſer quill / Muſt novv purſue and fall upon dovvn-right, […] 1642, H[enry] M[ore], “ΨΥΧΑΘΑΝΑΣΙΑ [Psychathanasia] Platonica: Or A Platonicall Poem of the Immortality of Souls, Especially Mans Soul”, in ΨΥΧΩΔΙΑ [Psychōdia] Platonica: Or A Platonicall Song of the Soul, […], Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] Roger Daniel, printer to the Universitie, →OCLC, book 1, canto 1, stanza 3, page 34:

Deriveds

downrightness · downrightly

Synonyms

straight · from aardvark to zymurgy · plumb · outright · all the way · absolutely · from soup to nuts · head to foot · from top to toe · altogether · at large · perfectly · entirely · from head to toe · root and branch · line · handsomely · tout à fait · stock · head to tail · cap-a-pie · right · out and out · to the bone · blind · downright · finally · and barrel · categorically · utterly · detailly · straight away · through and through · heartily · at length · totes · utterly · head to toe · properly · outright · positively · and sinker · soundly · out-and-out · one hundred percent · first and last · flat out · absolutely · thoroughly · outright · whole · cold · particularly · completely · outright · entirely · purely · stone-cold · right-down · exhaustively · stark · totally · from the rooter to the tooter · bluntly · all-out · in full · top to toe · from stem to stern · wholly · to the full · top to tail · whole cloth · flat-out · from top to bottom · to the core · lock · straight up · hook · well and truly · quite · soup-to-nuts · from A to Z · in detail · fully

Translations (19)

hi एकदम (completely, wholly) · bg съвсем (completely, wholly) · fr carrément (completely, wholly) · tr düpedüz (completely, wholly) · fi suorastaan (completely, wholly) · pdt dichtich (completely, wholly) · eo absolute (completely, wholly) · eo tutsimple (completely, wholly) · bg напълно (completely, wholly) · hu egyenesen (completely, wholly) · ro de-a dreptul (completely, wholly) · pl wręcz (completely, wholly) · nl gewoonweg (completely, wholly) · de geradezu (completely, wholly) · nl regelrecht (completely, wholly) · hu kimondottan (completely, wholly) · eo tute (completely, wholly) · fr vraiment (completely, wholly) · kk кәдімгідей (completely, wholly)

downright en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˌdaʊnˈɹaɪt/ as a postqualifier or at the end of a clause
• (General-American) audio
• /ˈdaʊnɹaɪt/
• /ˈdaʊnˌɹaɪt/

Etymology

The adverb is derived from Middle English dounright, dounriȝt (“right down, straight down; face down; vertically; used for emphasis: outright, downright”), and then either: * possibly an aphetic form of adounright (“straight down; directly, immediately (?)”), from adoun (“downward”, adverb) (from Old English adūn, adūne (“down, downward”, adverb), ultimately from dūn (“hill, mountain”), from Proto-West Germanic *dūnā, *dūnu (“hill; sand dune”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- (“haze, mist; smoke”)) + right (“direct; straight; etc.”, adjective) (from Old English riht (“straight; etc.”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- (“to straighten”)); or * from doun (“down, downward; etc.”, adverb) (from Old English dūne (“down”), ultimately from dūn (“hill, mountain”): see above) + right. By surface analysis, down (adverb) + right (adjective). The adjective and noun are derived from the adverb. Noun sense 1 (“low grade of wool”) may be from the obsolete adjective sense 2.2 (“in its most basic form; ordinary”).

Meanings

1. (in-plural, obsolete) A low grade of wool from the lower parts of the sides of a fleece.
   • It is ſaid, there are nine Sorts of VVool contained in one good Fleece, vvhich to make out, they ſay, that there are five Sorts for making Cloth, and four for Combings; a ſuperfine VVool, a head VVool, Dovvnrights, Seconds, and Livery. 1749, William Ellis, “Of Sheering Sheep”, in A Compleat System of Experienced Improvements, Made on Sheep, Grass-lambs, and House-lambs: Or, The Country Gentleman’s, the Grasier’s, the Sheep-dealer’s, and the Shepherd’s Sure Guide: […], London: […] T[homas] Astley; and sold by R[oberts?] Baldwin, Jun. […]; and E. Nicolson, […], →OCLC, book III, page 382:
2. (obsolete, rare) A vertical line; a perpendicular, a vertical.
   • [T]he middle of it [i.e., the thigh, is] the prop or thiller, the body the vveight, and the leg the povver; either of vvhich being brought by a ſharp angle to a dovvnright or perpendicular or more, vvith the thiller, vvill by ſo much leſſen the vveight, from the yielded aſſumption in that mechanick povver, That the point, vvhich is toucht by a perpendicular from the centre of heavineſs, is one of the terms: […] 1674, N[athaniel] Fairfax, chapter V, in A Treatise of the Bulk and Selvedge of the World. Wherein the Greatness, Littleness and Lastingness of Bodies are Freely Handled. […], London: […] Robert Boulter, […], →OCLC, page 153:

Forms