lower-down en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˌloʊ.wɚ ˈdaʊn/ (General-American)
Etymology
From lower + down. Modeled after higher-up.
Meanings
-
Someone with lesser superiority or authority in an organization.
Humans distinguish between we-groups and they-groups, such as relatives versus strangers and higher-ups versus lower-downs, thereby creating crucial preconditions for favouring their own groups while discriminating against others.
2020, Evert Van de Vliert, “The global ecology of differentiation between us and them”, in Nature Human Behavior, volume 4, number 3, pages 270-278:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| lower-downs | Number=Plur | lexicographic |