Defn: Feathery or wool-like down; filament of a feather. Shak.
No feather, or dowle of a feather. De Quincey.
DOWN
Down, n. Etym: [Akin to LG. dune, dun, Icel. d, Sw. dun, Dan. duun,
G. daune, cf. D. dons; perh. akin to E. dust.]
1. Fine, soft, hairy outgrowth from the skin or surface of animals or plants, not matted and fleecy like wool; esp.: (a) (Zoöl.) The soft under feathers of birds. They have short stems with soft rachis and bards and long threadlike barbules, without hooklets. (b) (Bot.) The pubescence of plants; the hairy crown or envelope of the seeds of certain plants, as of the thistle. (c) The soft hair of the face when beginning to appear. And the first down begins to shade his face. Dryden.
2. 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.
DOWN
Down, v. t.
Defn: To cover, ornament, line, or stuff with down. [R.] Young.
DOWN Down, n. Etym: [OE. dun, doun, AS. d; of Celtic origin; cf. Ir. d hill, fortified hill, Gael. dun heap, hillock, hill, W. din a fortified hill or mount; akin to E. town. See Town, and cf. Down, adv. & prep., Dune.]
1. A bank or rounded hillock of sand thrown up by the wind along or near the shore; a flattish-topped hill; — usually in the plural. Hills afford prospects, as they must needs acknowledge who have been on the downs of Sussex. Ray. She went by dale, and she went by down. Tennyson.
2. A tract of poor, sandy, undulating or hilly land near the sea, covered with fine turf which serves chiefly for the grazing of sheep; — usually in the plural. [Eng.] Seven thousand broad-tailed sheep grazed on his downs. Sandys.