lowering

Definition

present participle and gerund of lower

Etymology

c. 1600, "descend, sink, grow less or lower" (intransitive), from lower (adj.), comparative of low (adj.). Transitive meaning "let down, cause to descend" attested from 1650s. Related: Lowered; lowering. In the transitive sense "to cause to descend" the older verb was low. From Middle English lahghenn, (c. 1200), which continued in use into the 18c.

Example Sentences

• "Ahead of us the lowering smoke-screen of Leeds and her gloomy satellites hung like an incubus over the land."