# lowering

Pronunciation: US say "LOH-ur-ing" /ˈloʊ.ɚ.ɪŋ/; UK say "LOH-uh-ring" /ˈləʊ.ə.ɹɪŋ/

## Verb

1. Present participle and gerund of lower. — present participle and gerund of lower
   - Simple: The -ing form of lower. Use it after am, is, are, was or were, or to name the action.
   - _Workers were lowering the steel beam carefully toward the foundation._
   - _Lowering the dosage gradually helped reduce the side effects._

## Noun

2. The act of moving or letting something down to a lower position.
   - Simple: The act of moving something down to a lower place.
   - _The lowering of the flag marked the end of the ceremony._
   - _A sudden lowering of the platform startled the workers below._
6. Alternative form of louring. — Alternative form of louring. (pronounced: US say "LOW-ur-ing" /ˈlaʊ.ɚ.ɪŋ/; UK say "LOW-uh-ring" /ˈlaʊ.ə.ɹɪŋ/)
   - Simple: Another way to write louring. It means a dark, threatening gloom or scowl.

## Adjective

Pronunciation: US say "LOW-ur-ing" /ˈlaʊ.ɚ.ɪŋ/; UK say "LOW-uh-ring" /ˈlaʊ.ə.ɹɪŋ/

3. Dark and menacing in appearance, like a sky heavy with storm clouds.
   - Simple: Looking dark and full of threat, like the sky before a storm.
   - _Sailors watched the lowering horizon with growing unease._
   - _A lowering gloom settled over the valley before the gale struck._
4. Frowning or scowling, with a sullen and angry expression.
   - Simple: Frowning in an angry, unhappy way.
   - _The teacher's lowering brow warned the class to settle down._
   - _He sat in the corner all evening with a lowering scowl._
5. Lurking or skulking nearby in a threatening manner.
   - Simple: Hiding close by and looking ready to cause harm.
   - _A lowering presence seemed to follow them through the alleys._
   - _Wolves kept a lowering watch at the edge of the firelight._

## Origin

**Meanings 1–2** — Attested from around 1600 meaning "to descend, sink, or grow lower", this comes from the adjective 'lower', the comparative of 'low' (adj.). The transitive sense "to let down or cause to descend" appears from the 1650s, replacing the older verb 'low', which came from Middle English 'lahghenn' (c. 1200) and stayed in use into the 18th century.
**Meanings 3–6** — From Middle English 'louryng' (also 'louringe', 'lowrynge'), a later variant of 'lourand', equivalent to 'lour' plus '-ing'. It is cognate with Dutch 'loerend' ("lurking, louring").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/lowering (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).