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Glite Dictionary
🌊 Along or down ⬇️ Downward
adown

adown

1 9.9
Along the length of something like a river or path
  • adposition
  • Archaic
: abajo
  • Leaves drifted adown the hillside as the autumn wind picked up.

Examples

  • Leaves drifted adown the hillside as the autumn wind picked up.

  • The river flowed adown the valley, sparkling in the morning sun.

  • They wandered adown the ancient path, lost in thought and memory.

  • The river flowed adown the valley.

  • He walked adown the ancient path.

  • The river flowed adown the valley, sparkling in the morning sun.

  • They wandered adown the ancient path, lost in thought and memory.

Surface Forms

adown main

Morphology

adown = (semi-transparent) = a + down

The meaning stays close to 'down', but the archaic prefixal form 'a-' is not a productive pattern for most modern learners. [Postprocessing: moved 'down' from base_words to prefix]

Etymology

Adown comes from the old prefix a- meaning 'on' or 'in' and the common word down. So it once meant 'on/down the length of' something, which is why it is used before a noun to mean 'along or down' a place.