Dictionary — ontologydriven

downtrod en · VERB · etymology 1

Back-formation from downtrodden; see downtread.

(US) to oppress, suppress, exploit, persecute, step down on; put down; denigrate, subjugate
- I've heard wicked rumors that FAA and wives try to downtrod small aircraft pilots. 1967, The AOPA pilot: Volume 10, Part 1 (Aeronautics), Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, page 64:
- And having an entire group of people constantly waiting in the wings to downtrod even the slightest POSITIVE moves does not help matters. 2009 July 11, JF, comment, “Top House Republican slams Obama over stimulus, jobs”, in CNN, archived from the original on 17 Feb 2012:
- And I don't know of any manufacturer or any industry that wants to downtrod the farmer. 1935, The Cotton Oil Press, Vol.19, Digitized edition, published 2009, page 36:

Spelling	Features	Source
downtrodden	Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part	lexicographic
downtrodding	Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part	lexicographic
downtrods	Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres	lexicographic
downtrod	Tense=Past	lexicographic

From down- + trod.

(archaic, poetic) downtrodden; abused by superior power
- I will lift the downtrod Mortimer c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:
- Consider the lowly, downtrod worm. 1942, Richard Armour, Yours for the Asking: A Book of Light Verse:

Spelling	Features	Labels	Source
most downtrod	Degree=Sup		lexicographic
more downtrod	Degree=Cmp		lexicographic