Etymologically
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downside

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈdaʊnˌsaɪd/[1]

Etymology

It is a compound from English down + side,[2][3][4][5] formed after upside.[2] The phrase downside up was made after upside down.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The underside or lower side: before 1612, in Fowler's translation of Petrarch's Triumphs.[2] Merriam-Webster and Etymonline date it to 1683 and the 1680s.[6][3]

Semantic evolution

The modern senses come from business.[2] In the United States a downside was a fall in share prices from 1905, chiefly in the phrase on the downside,[2][6] and as an adjective, of a possible fall in value, from 1938, as in downside risk.[2] From 1972 it also meant the risk that an investment will lose value.[2] The general sense, the disadvantage or drawback of something, is recorded from 1977, again first in the United States;[2] Etymonline's date for it is 1995.[3] The Shorter Oxford dates these senses to the mid-20th century.[4]

Timeline

  • before 1612 – the underside.[2]
  • 1664 – adverb, downwards, on the lower side.[2]
  • 1905 – a fall in share prices.[2]
  • 1938 – adjective, of a possible fall in value.[2]
  • 1972 – the risk that an investment will fall in value.[2]
  • 1977 – a drawback or disadvantage.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The negative side of something; a drawback or disadvantage: The downside of the job is the long commute.[6][2][4]
  2. A downward trend, as of prices, especially in on the downside.[6][2]
  3. The risk that an investment will lose value.[2][4]
  4. The lower side; the underside.[6][2]

Adjective

  1. Relating to a possible fall in value, as in downside risk.[2]

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 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster