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downright

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Etymology and origin of the English word downright

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
c. 1225 St. Margaret
Ultimate origin
Middle English doun,right

Pronunciation

  • /ˈdaʊnɹaɪt/, /ˌdaʊnˈɹaɪt/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English dounright,[2] formed from Middle English doun + right,[3][2][4][5] from down and right.[4] The OED takes it as probably an aphetic form of adownright, recorded from Old English to about 1425, and compares the slightly earlier downrights.[6][7] Old English had dunrihte (“downwards”).[4] The inverted right-down is attested from the 17th century.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Straight down, vertically: c. 1225, in the life of Saint Margaret.[6][3] Etymonline dates it to about 1200.[4]

Semantic evolution

From the literal "straight down" the adverb came to mean "thoroughly, utterly" by about 1275, in Laȝamon's Brut, often as a mere intensive;[6][4] the literal sense became obsolete in the early 19th century.[6] The adjective is recorded from 1530, at first for something running straight down.[6] From the 1560s it meant "complete, absolute", as in downright money, ready cash.[6][4] From 1584 it described a person or speech that was plain, honest and blunt.[6] Johnson (1755) defined the adjective as "plain; open; apparent; undisguised" and "directly tending to the point".[8] A downright was also a grade of wool, from 1749.[6][2] In 19th-century British tramps' slang, on the downright meant wandering the country as a beggar.[9]

Timeline

  • c. 1225 – adverb, straight down (obsolete by 1813).[6][3]
  • c. 1275 – adverb, completely, utterly.[6][4]
  • 1530 – adjective, running straight down (obsolete).[6]
  • 1565 – adjective, plain, ordinary, as in downright money.[6]
  • 1577 – adjective, absolute, utter.[6]
  • 1584 – adjective, of a person or speech, straightforward, blunt.[6]
  • 1749 – noun, a grade of wool.[6]
  • 1842 – on the downright, begging from door to door.[9]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Complete, utter, absolute: That was a downright insult.[2][6][8]
  2. Plain and direct in manner or speech; blunt, forthright: a downright refusal.[2][6]

Adverb

  1. Thoroughly, utterly; to the utmost degree: The weather was downright miserable.[2][6]
  2. (archaic) Straight down; vertically.[2][6]

Noun

  1. (obsolete, 1749–1921) A grade of short-staple wool, usually in the plural.[6][2]

Word family

  • downrightly
  • downrightness

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b c Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  9. ^ a b Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
Cite this entry

“Downright.” Etymologically, 31 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/downright. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.

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