downward

Etymology

down + -ward

adv

1. Toward a lower level, whether in physical space, in a hierarchy, or in amount or value.
   His position in society moved ever downward.
   The natural disasters put downward pressure on the creditworthiness of the nation’s insurance groups.
2. At a lower level.
3. Southward.
   If we turn to the New World, we find that among the American Indians, from the Eskimo of Alaska downward to Brazil and still farther south, homosexual customs have been very frequently observed. 1927, Havelock Ellis, Studies in the Psychology of Sex, volume 2

adj

1. Moving, sloping or oriented downward.
   He spoke with a downward glance.
   […] Therese saw a downward slant of sadness in her mouth now, a sadness not of wisdom but of defeat. 1952, Patricia Highsmith, chapter 7, in The Price of Salt, Mineola, New York: Dover, published 2015, page 73
   The tractive and braking forces are transmitted to the body through a downward projecting pivot pin in the normal way. 1960 December, “The first hundred 25 kV a.c. electric locomotives for B.R.”, in Trains Illustrated, page 728
2. Located at a lower level.
   1793, Thomas Taylor (translator), The Phædo in The Cratylus, Phædo, Parmenides and Timæus of Plato, London: Benjamin and John White, p. 235, […] often revolving itself under the earth, [the river] flows into the more downward parts of Tartarus.