downy en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /ˈdaʊni/
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Indo-European *dʰuh₂nós Proto-Germanic *dūnaz Old Norse dúnnbor. Middle English doun English down Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-West Germanic *-g Old English -iġ Middle English -y English -y English downy From down + -y.
Meanings
-
Having down, covered with a soft fuzzy coating as of small feathers or hair.
The chick's downy coat of feathers formed almost immediately to keep it warm.
-
(dated, slang) Sharp-witted, perceptive.
I’m not clever, p’raps: but I am rather downy; and partial friends say I know what’s o’clock tolerably well.
1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 10, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:The right hon. Gentleman has much more claim to the adjective downy than I have, but he really cannot catch me with that one.
1947, Sir David Maxwell Fyfe, Speech in UK House of Commons, 10th November 1947
- (Norfolk, UK) Low-spirited; down in the mouth.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| downiest | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| downier | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Deriveds
undowny · downy birch · downily · downiness · downy willow · downy rattlesnake · downy woodpecker
Translations (18)
grc χνόϊος (having down) · bg пухест (having down) · br marbluñvek (having down) · ru пухо́вый (having down) · pl puchowy (having down) · cmn 毛茸茸 (having down) · nl donzig (having down) · sv dunig (having down) · fi untuvainen (having down) · bg мъхест (having down) · fr duveteux (having down) · it lanuginoso (having down) · de flaumig (having down) · ru пуши́стый (having down) · lv pūkains (having down) · ga clúmhach (having down) · pdt dünijch (having down) · cy manbluog (having down)