How to pronounce down

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What down means

noun

Most people know down in its everyday sense. Here's its other meaning.

Soft, fluffy feathers that cover baby birds

In a sentence: The newly hatched ducklings were still covered in yellow down.

Where it comes from: It comes from an Old Norse word, dúnn, for soft feathers. It is a different word from down meaning toward the ground, which comes from an Old English phrase about coming off a hill.

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