downwind

English

Etymology

Etymology tree
English down-
Proto-Indo-European *h₂weh₁-
Proto-Indo-European *-ti
Proto-Indo-European *h₂wḗh₁ti
Proto-Indo-European *h₂wéh₁n̥ts
Proto-Germanic *windaz
Proto-West Germanic *wind
Old English wind
Middle English wynd
English wind
English downwind

    From down- + wind.

    Pronunciation

    • (Canada) IPA(key): /ˌdaʊnˈwɪnd/
    • Audio (Southern England):(file)
    • Rhymes: -ɪnd

    Adverb

    downwind (not generally comparable, comparative further downwind or farther downwind or more downwind, superlative furthest downwind or farthest downwind or most downwind)

    1. In the same direction as the wind is blowing.
      • 1888, Rudyard Kipling, Plain Tales from the Hills:
        ... the aftermath of the dust-storm came up and caught us both, and drove us downwind like pieces of paper.
      • 2021, Peter Cavanagh, “9. Cranes”, in 100 Flying Birds: Photographing the Mechanics of Flight, →ISBN, page 220:
        The six birds on their downwind leg have already started to get their "gear down," meaning they have partially rotated their legs forward in a position that will be vertical by the moment of touch down.
    2. (followed by from) Positioned relative to something in such a way that it can be smelled in the wind.
      I don't want to live downwind from a pig farm.
    3. (aviation) In the direction opposite that of landing in a traffic pattern.

    Synonyms

    Antonyms

    Derived terms

    Translations

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