The Collaborative International Dictionary
Down \Down\, n. [Akin to LG. dune, dun, Icel. d?nn, Sw. dun, Dan. duun, G. daune, cf. D. dons; perh. akin to E. dust.]
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Fine, soft, hairy outgrowth from the skin or surface of animals or plants, not matted and fleecy like wool; esp.:
(Zo["o]l.) The soft under feathers of birds. They have short stems with soft rachis and bards and long threadlike barbules, without hooklets.
(Bot.) The pubescence of plants; the hairy crown or envelope of the seeds of certain plants, as of the thistle.
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The soft hair of the face when beginning to appear.
And the first down begins to shade his face.
--Dryden.
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That which is made of down, as a bed or pillow; that which affords ease and repose, like a bed of down
When in the down I sink my head, Sleep, Death's twin brother, times my breath.
--Tennyson.Thou bosom softness, down of all my cares!
--Southern.Down tree (Bot.), a tree of Central America ( Ochroma Lagopus), the seeds of which are enveloped in vegetable wool.