Emily Dickinson Lexicon

DOWN, prep. [Sax. dun, adun. In W. dwvyn is deep, Corn. doun, Arm. doun, Ir. domhain; and in Welsh, dan is under, beneath. In Russ. tonu is to sink.]

1. Along a descent; from a higher to a lower place; as, to run down a hill; to fall down a precipice; to go down the stairs.
2. Toward the mouth of a river, or toward the place where water is discharged into the ocean or a lake. We sail or swim down a stream; we sail down the Sound from New York to New London. Hence figuratively, we pass down the current of life or of time. Down the sound, in the direction of the ebb-tide toward the sea. Down the country, toward the sea, or toward the part where rivers discharge their waters into the ocean.