downhill

Etymology

It is a compound from English down + hill,^[2][3][4][5] in the adverb from down as a preposition and in the noun mainly from down as an adverb, according to the OED.^[2] The OED compares uphill.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Down the slope of a hill: before 1398, in John Trevisa's translation of Bartholomaeus Anglicus.^[2][3][5]

Semantic evolution

The adverb was used figuratively, of things getting steadily worse, from 1610, especially in to go downhill;^[2][5] the adjective had the sense of a worsening decline even earlier, from 1565.^[2] The noun, the downward slope of a hill, dates from 1548,^[2][5] though Etymonline gives the 1590s;^[3] it too was used of decline, especially in old age, from 1575, as in the downhill of life.^[2][4] The adjective "sloping downwards" dates from 1535 in the OED,^[2] from 1727 in Etymonline.^[3] Because going downhill takes little effort, the word could also describe an easy stretch of time, in the adjective from 1622 (in Bacon) and in the noun from 1644, chiefly in the pairing of ups and downs as uphills and downhills;^[2][5] in modern use all downhill can mean either "easy from now on" or "getting worse from now on".^[5][6] In 17th-century criminals' slang downhills were loaded dice that fell with a low number up.^[2][4] In the 20th century it became a skiing term: the adjective, of skiing down mountain slopes, is recorded from 1911 and the noun for the race from 1926,^[2] though Etymonline dates the downhill race from 1960.^[3]

Timeline

• before 1398 – adverb, down the slope of a hill.^[2]
• 1535 – adjective, sloping downwards.^[2]
• 1548 – noun, the downward slope of a hill.^[2][5]
• 1565 – adjective, worsening, declining.^[2]
• 1610 – adverb, figuratively, into a worse state, as in to go downhill.^[2]
• 1622 – adjective, easy, free from difficulties.^[2][5]
• 1664 – downhills, loaded dice (criminals' slang).^[2]
• 1911 – of skiing down mountain slopes.^[2]
• 1926 – noun, a downhill ski race.^[2]

Meanings

Adverb

1. Down a slope; toward the bottom of a hill: The cart rolled downhill and into the hedge.^[6][5][7]
2. Toward a worse state; especially in go downhill, to get worse: The restaurant went downhill after the chef left.^[6][5][2]

Adjective

1. Sloping downwards; descending.^[6][5][2]
2. Of or for skiing down slopes: downhill skis.^[6][5][2]
3. Becoming steadily worse; deteriorating.^[6][5][2]
4. Easy, free of difficulties, especially after a harder part.^[5][2]

Noun

1. A ski race down a long, steep course against time.^[5][2]
2. (archaic) A downward slope; a declivity.^[5][4][2]
3. A decline, especially of life or condition.^[5][4][2]

Word family

• downhiller
• downhill skiing

Related words

• uphill

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 29 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e f The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins