Down

Down, district (1991 pop. 57,050), 246 sq mi (637 sq km), SE Northern Ireland. The principal town is Downpatrick. The shoreline extends along the Irish Sea and is deeply indented by Strangford Lough. The undulating surface rises to the beautiful Mourne Mts. in the south. Chief rivers are the Lagan and the Bann. Agriculture is the most important activity, and the area is extensively cultivated (oats, barley, wheat, and hay). Market gardening is common in the north. Sheep and pigs are also raised. Manufactures include linen, cotton, rayon, clothing, agricultural machinery, and metals. The chief manufacturing towns are Downpatrick and Ballynahinch. Fishing is economically important; herring and whitefish constitute the main catch. Newcastle and Killyleagh are seaside resort towns.

or trisomy 21

Congenital disorder caused by an extra chromosome (trisomy) on the chromosome 21 pair. Those with the syndrome may have broad, flat faces; up-slanted eyes, sometimes with epicanthal folds (whence its former name, mongolism); intellectual disability (usually moderate); heart or kidney malformations; and abnormal fingerprint patterns. Many persons with Down syndrome can live and work independently or in a sheltered environment, but they age prematurely and have a short (55-year) life expectancy. The risk of bearing a child with the disorder increases with the mother's age; it can be detected in the fetus by amniocentesis.

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District (pop., 1999 est.: 63,800), Northern Ireland. Formerly part of County Down, it was established as a district in 1973. It fronts Strangford Lough and the Irish Sea. Extreme southern and western Down is mountainous; the dome-shaped Mourne Mountains reach an elevation of 2,789 ft (850 m). Down is a rich agricultural district; livestock raising is important. Down was settled in prehistoric times. It was where St. Patrick began his mission in Ireland (AD 432), and his well and bathhouses are preserved near the district seat, Downpatrick. In Tudor times, parts of Down were colonized by English and Scottish adventurers.

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Down may refer to:

• Relative direction, where down is the opposite of up
• Railroad directions, where down and up have locally significant meanings
• Down feather, a soft bird feather frequently used in manufacture of bedding.
• Downland, a type of hill
• Down syndrome, a genetic disorder
• Down (American football), in American/Canadian football, a period of time where one play takes place
• County Down, a county within Northern Ireland

* Down (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)

* Down (UK Parliament constituency)

• Down (game theory), a standard position in mathematical game theory
• Down (film), an English remake of the film De Lift, about an express elevator that develops a mind of its own
• Down (comics), a comic book published by Top Cow Productions
• Down (novel), a Bernice Summerfield novel by Lawrence Miles
• Down payment, a term used in the context of the purchase of items
• Down quark, an elementary constituent of matter

Music

• Down (band), an American southern heavy metal supergroup
• Down (Sentenced album)
• Down (The Jesus Lizard album)
• "Down" (311 song)
• "Down" (Blink-182 song)
• "Down" (Rakim y Ken-Y song)
• "Down" (Pearl Jam song)
• "Down" (Juelz Santana Song)
• "Down" (Stone Temple Pilots Song)
• "Down" (Chris Brown song)
• Down (Melissa)