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downbeat

noun
/ˈdaʊnbiːt//daʊnˈbiːt/

Etymology

Earlier downbeaten, from the phrasal verb beat down

  1. derived from *bautaną✻ — “to push, strike”
  2. derived from *bautan✻
  3. derived from bēatan — “to beat, pound, strike, lash, dash, thrust, hurt, injure”
  4. inherited from beten
  5. compounded as downbeat — “down + beat”

Definitions

  1. The accented beat at the beginning of a bar (indicated by a conductor with a downward…

    The accented beat at the beginning of a bar (indicated by a conductor with a downward stroke).

  2. Sad or pessimistic.

    • He sounded downbeat when asked about his future plans.

  3. Cautiously optimistic.

    • She carried herself with a quiet downbeat grace.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for downbeat. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA