- Ochroma Lagopus
- Down Down, n. [Akin to LG. dune, dun, Icel. d?nn, 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) (Zo["o]l.) 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.
[1913 Webster]
And the first down begins to shade his face. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
2. That which is made of down, as a bed or pillow; that which affords ease and repose, like a bed of down [1913 Webster]
When in the down I sink my head, Sleep, Death's twin brother, times my breath. --Tennyson. [1913 Webster]
Thou bosom softness, down of all my cares! --Southern. [1913 Webster]
{Down tree} (Bot.), a tree of Central America ({Ochroma Lagopus}), the seeds of which are enveloped in vegetable wool. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
