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lower

 [loh-er]   Origin

low·er

1   [loh-er]
verb (used with object)
1.
to cause to descend; let or put down: to lower a flag.
2.
to make lower in height or level: to lower the water in a canal.
3.
to reduce in amount, price, degree, force, etc.
4.
to make less loud: Please lower your voice.
5.
to bring down in rank or estimation; degrade; humble; abase (oneself), as by some sacrifice of self-respect or dignity: His bad actions lowered him in my eyes.
EXPAND
6.
Music. to make lower in pitch; flatten.
7.
Phonetics. to alter the articulation of (a vowel) by increasing the distance of the tongue downward from the palate: The vowel of “clerk” is lowered to (ä) in the British pronunciation.
COLLAPSE
verb (used without object)
8.
to become lower, grow less, or diminish, as in amount, intensity, or degree: The brook lowers in early summer. Stock prices rise and lower constantly.
9.
to descend; sink: the sun lowering in the west.

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Lower is always a great word to know.
So is major. Does it mean:
passage at the end of a composition used to bring it to a satisfactory close
major interval, chord, scale
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
adjective
10.
comparative of low1.
11.
of or pertaining to those portions of a river farthest from the source.
12.
(often initial capital letter) Stratigraphy. noting an early division of a period, system, or the like: the Lower Devonian.
noun
13.
a denture for the lower jaw.
14.
a lower berth.
Origin:
1150–1200; Middle English, comparative of low1 (adj.)

Related forms
low·er·a·ble, adjective

Synonyms
1. drop, depress. 3. decrease, diminish, lessen. 4. soften. 5. humiliate, dishonor, disgrace, debase.

Antonyms
3. raise, increase. 5. elevate, honor.

Dictionary.com Unabridged

low·er

2   [lou-er, louuhr]
verb (used without object)
1.
to be dark and threatening, as the sky or the weather.
2.
to frown, scowl, or look sullen; glower: He lowers at people when he's in a bad mood.
noun
3.
a dark, threatening appearance, as of the sky or weather.
4.
a frown or scowl.
Also, lour.

Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English lour (noun), louren (v.) to frown, lurk; akin to German lauern, Dutch loeren

Synonyms
1. darken, threaten.

low

1   [loh] adjective, -er, -est, adverb, -er, -est, noun
adjective
1.
situated, placed, or occurring not far above the ground, floor, or base: a low shelf.
2.
of small extent upward; not high or tall: A low wall surrounds the property.
3.
not far above the horizon, as a planet: The moon was low in the sky.
4.
lying or being below the general level: low ground.
5.
designating or pertaining to regions near sea level, especially near the sea: low countries.
EXPAND
6.
bending or passing far downward; deep: a low bow.
7.
(of a garment) low-necked; décolleté: The dress she wore was fashionably low.
8.
rising but slightly from a surface: a low relief on a frieze.
9.
of less than average or normal height or depth, as a liquid or stream: The river is low this time of year.
10.
near the first of a series: a low number.
11.
ranked near the beginning or bottom on some scale of measurement: a low income bracket.
12.
indicating the bottom or the point farthest down: the low point in his creative life.
13.
lacking in strength, energy, or vigor; feeble; weak: to feel low and listless.
14.
providing little nourishment or strength, as a diet.
15.
of small number, amount, degree, force, intensity, etc.: low visibility; a generator with a low output.
16.
indicated or represented by a low number: A low latitude is one relatively near the equator.
17.
soft: subdued; not loud: a low murmur.
18.
Music. produced by relatively slow vibrations, as sounds; grave in pitch.
19.
assigning or attributing little worth, value, excellence, or the like: a low estimate of a new book.
20.
containing a relatively small amount: a diet low in starches.
21.
nearing depletion; not adequately supplied: low on funds; Our stock of towels is low.
22.
depressed or dejected: low spirits.
23.
far down in the scale of rank or estimation; humble: of low birth.
24.
of inferior quality or character: a low grade of fabric; a low type of intellect.
25.
lacking in dignity or elevation, as of thought or expression.
26.
mean, base, or disreputable: low tricks; low companions.
27.
coarse or vulgar: entertainment of a low sort.
28.
Boxing. struck or delivered below a contestant's belt.
29.
Biology. having a relatively simple structure; not complex in organization.
30.
Phonetics. (of a vowel) articulated with a relatively large opening above the tongue, as the vowels of hat, hut, hot, ought, etc. Compare high (def. 23).
31.
Automotive. of, pertaining to, or operating at the gear transmission ratio at which the drive shaft moves at the lowest speed with relation to the speed of the engine crankshaft, used especially for temporarily overcoming the weight or inertia of the vehicle; first: low gear.
32.
Baseball. (of a pitched ball) passing the plate at a level below that of the batter's knees: a low curve.
33.
Cards. having less value than other cards: a low card.
34.
Metallurgy. having a relatively small amount of a specified constituent (usually used in combination): low-carbon steel.
35.
Chiefly British. holding to Low Church principles and practices.
COLLAPSE
adverb
36.
in or to a low position, point, degree, etc.: The raiders crouched low in the bushes.
37.
near the ground, floor, or base; not aloft: The plane flew low.
38.
in or to a humble or abject state: Some live low while others live high. She swore she would bring him low.
39.
in or to a condition of depletion, prostration, or death: The gas in the tank is running low.
40.
at comparatively small cost; cheaply: to buy something low and sell it high.
EXPAND
41.
at or to a low pitch, volume, intensity, etc.: to turn the radio low; lights turned down low.
42.
in a low tone; softly; quietly; to speak low.
43.
Archaic. far down in time; late.
COLLAPSE
noun
44.
something that is low, as ground or prices: numerous marshy lows in the forest; the recent low in the stock market.
45.
Automotive. low gear; first gear.
46.
Meteorology. an atmospheric low-pressure system; cyclone. Compare high (def. 37).
47.
Cards.
a.
the lowest trump card.
b.
a card of small value, or of lower value than other cards.
c.
the lowest score in a game.
d.
a player having such a score.
48.
a point of deepest decline, vulgarity, etc.: a new low in tastelessness.
EXPAND
49.
Slang. a period of intense depression or discomfort, when the effects of a drug have subsided.
COLLAPSE
Idioms
50.
lay low,
a.
to overpower or kill; defeat: to lay one's attackers low.
b.
to knock down; make prostrate.
c.
Informal. to lie low.
51.
lie low,
a.
to conceal oneself: He had to lie low for a while.
b.
to do nothing until the right opportunity develops; bide one's time: Until the dispute is settled, you would do best to lie low.
Origin:
1125–75; Middle English lowe, lohe (adj. and noun), earlier lāh < Old Norse lāgr (adj.); cognate with Old Frisian lēge, lēch, Dutch laag, Old High German laege; akin to lie2

Related forms
low·ish, adjective
low·ness, noun
o·ver·low·ness, noun

Synonyms
13. exhausted, sinking, expiring, dying. 17. quiet. 18. deep. 22. dispirited, unhappy, sad. 23. lowly, meek, obscure. 26. ignoble, degraded, servile. 27. rude, crude. See mean2.

Antonyms
1–3. high.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To lower
Collins
World English Dictionary
lour or lower (laʊə)
 
—vb
1.  (esp of the sky, weather, etc) to be overcast, dark, and menacing
2.  to scowl or frown
 
—n
3.  a menacing scowl or appearance
 
[C13 louren to scowl; compare German lauern to lurk]
 
lower or lower
 
—vb
 
—n
 
[C13 louren to scowl; compare German lauern to lurk]
 
'louring or lower
 
—adj
 
'lowering or lower
 
—adj
 
'louringly or lower
 
—adv
 
'loweringly or lower
 
—adv

lower1 (ˈləʊə)
 
—adj
1.  being below one or more other things: the lower shelf; the lower animals
2.  reduced in amount or value: a lower price
3.  maths (of a limit or bound) less than or equal to one or more numbers or variables
4.  (sometimes capital) geology denoting the early part or division of a period, system, formation, etc: Lower Silurian
 
—vb
5.  (tr) to cause to become low or on a lower level; bring, put, or cause to move down
6.  (tr) to reduce or bring down in estimation, dignity, value, etc: to lower oneself
7.  to reduce or be reduced: to lower one's confidence
8.  (tr) to make quieter: to lower the radio
9.  (tr) to reduce the pitch of
10.  (tr) phonetics to modify the articulation of (a vowel) by bringing the tongue further away from the roof of the mouth
11.  (intr) to diminish or become less
 
[C12 (comparative of low1); C17 (vb)]
 
'lowerable1
 
—adj

lower2 (ˈlaʊə)
 
—vb
a variant spelling of lour

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

low
O.E. hlowan "make a noise like a cow," from P.Gmc. *khlo- (cf. M.Du. loeyen, O.H.G. hluojen), from onomatopoeic PIE base *kla- (see claim).
EXPAND

lower
"to cause to descend," c.1600, from lower (adj.), from M.E. lahghere (c.1200), comp. of low (adj.).

lower
(also lour), M.E. louren, luren "to frown, lurk," from O.E. *luran or from its cognates, M.L.G. luren, M.Du. loeren "lie in wait."
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
lower   (lō'ər)  Pronunciation Key 
Being an earlier division of the geological or archaeological period named. Compare upper.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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