downriveradv.adj.
/ˌdaʊnˈrɪvə/, U.S. /ˌdaʊnˈrɪvər/ A. adv.
Further along the course of a river; in the direction of the mouth of a river; following the current of a river.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > rivers and streams > system > [adverb] > downstream
downstream1591
beneath1650
below1810
downriver1820
1820 Orleans Gaz. & Commerc. Advertiser (New Orleans) 13 Jan. (advt.) The new sch. Sygnet, Capt. Kimball, is expected down river within 10 days.
1836 F. W. Thomas East & West II. xv. 178 I thought the tide, as we were going down river, would keep her off.
1868 M. S. Walker Family Doctor xiv. 238 The boy ain't got kith nor kin in these parts, only old Aunt Polly Gibbs; and she lives down river somewhere.
1940 C. Morgan Voyage 504 ‘Where do you want to go to?’ ‘Down-river,’ Thérèse replied at hazard. ‘La Roche perhaps.’
1971 Angling Times 10 June 6/2 [I] cheerfully expected to net every eel that passed downriver that night.
2006 J. Pilkington Jingler's Luck 1 The flotsam that lay along the shoreline, washed downriver from London.
B. adj. (attributive).
That is situated nearer to the mouth of a river; that follows the direction of a river's current.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > rivers and streams > system > [adjective] > downstream
downstream1767
downriver1825
1825 Aurora & Franklin (Philadelphia) Gaz. 3 Aug. The passage of the ‘arks last fall’ was but a remnant of the old down river navigation.
1887 Pall Mall Gaz. 24 Dec. 2/1 At one of the down-river offices.
1915 Bull. Amer. Geogr. Soc. 47 586 From the Lachine Canal, down-river steamers are locked directly into the harbor of Montreal.
1968 E. Weeks Fresh Waters 93 The afternoon was cold and overcast, the downriver wind strong in my face.
2007 J. H. Stape Several Lives J. Conrad (U.S. ed.) iii. 65 The ship began her downriver journey shortly after Conrad took command.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
adv.adj.1820