Origin and history of downwind

"in a descending direction, from a higher to a lower place, degree, or condition," late Old English shortened form of Old English ofdune "downwards," originally of dune "off from (the) hill," from dune "from the hill," dative of dun "hill" (see down (n.2)). The "hill" word is general in Germanic, but this sense development is peculiar to English. As a preposition, "in a descending direction upon or along," from late 14c.

To be down on "express disapproval of" is by 1851. Down home is from 1828 as "in one's home region," as an adjective phrase meaning "unpretentious" by 1931, American English. Down the hatch as a toast is from 1931. Down to the wire is 1901, from horse-racing.

Down Under "Australia and New Zealand" attested from 1886; Down East "Maine" is from 1825; Down South "in the Southern states of the U.S." is attested by 1834. Down the road "in the future" is by 1964, U.S. colloquial. Down-to-earth "everyday, ordinary, realistic" is by 1932.

"air naturally in motion; a perceptible current of air from a particular direction;" Old English wind, from Proto-Germanic *winda-, from PIE *wē-nt-o‑ "blowing," suffixed (participial) form of root *we- "to blow."

Normal pronunciation evolution made this word rhyme with kind and rind (Donne rhymes it with mind and Thomas Moore with behind), but it shifted to a short vowel 18c., probably from influence of windy, where the short vowel is natural.

Symbolic of emptiness and vanity since c. 1200; from Middle English also of swiftness, transience, changeability.

I have forgot much, Cynara! gone with the wind. [Ernest Dowson, 1896]

With suggestion of force, agency, influence also by c. 1200, from wind as the driving force of a vessel on water. As in winds of change, a phrase attested by 1905 but popularized in Harold Macmillan's 1960 South Africa speech. Other images are from winds as favorable or not for navigation. To take the wind out of (one's) sails in the figurative sense (by 1883) is an image from sailing, where a ship without wind can make no progress.

The meaning "breath in and out of the lungs" is attested from late Old English; especially "breath in speaking" (early 14c.); hence long-winded. It also meant "easy or regular breathing" (early 14c.), hence second wind in the figurative sense (by 1830), an image from the sport of hunting. The meaning "part of the abdomen where a blow causes temporary loss of breathing power" is by 1823 in pugilism slang (see wind (v.2)).

As "air contained in something" (as in windbag), from late Old English. By mid-14c. as "gas in the body," especially air in the digestive organs.

Winds "orchestral instruments that produce sound by streams of breath or air" is by 1876, from wind-instrument. Also compare windfall, windbreak, etc. An old word for a broad-brimmed hat was wind-cutter (1610s).

The figurative phrase which way the wind blows for "the current state of affairs" is suggested from mid-14c. (how þe wynd was went). To get wind of "receive information about" is by 1809, perhaps inspired by French avoir le vent de.

Wind-chill index, to measure the cooling factor of wind, is recorded from 1939. Wind energy is attested by 1976. Wind vane is from 1725. Wind-shear by 1951.

Germanic cognates include Old Saxon, Old Frisian, Middle Dutch, Dutch wind, Old Norse vindr, Old High German wind, German Wind, Gothic winds.