also show-down, 1873 in card-playing (especially poker) a slang term for the act of laying down the hands face-up, from show (v.) + down (adv.). Figurative sense of "final confrontation" is by 1904.

piece of hanging, decorative drapery, mid-15c., of uncertain origin, probably from Anglo-French *valaunce, valence, from valer "go down, let down," variant of Old French avaler "descend, go down;" or possibly from the plural of Old French avalant, from present participle of avaler "go down." The notion is of something "hanging down." Not now considered to be from the name of Valence in southwestern France, which is from the Roman personal name Valentius. Related: Valenced.

"submissive, humble, lowly," 1570s, from Latin demissus "let down, lowered," past participle of demittere, literally "to send down," from de "down" (see de-) + mittere "to let go, send, release" (see mission).

1660s, an old chemistry term for "minerals which were readily fusible and useful as fluxes in smelting" [Flood], from Latin fluor, originally meaning "a flowing, flow," from fluere "to flow, stream, run, melt" (see fluent). Said to be from a translation of the German miners' name, flusse. Since 1771 applied to minerals containing fluorine, especially calcium fluoride (fluorspar or fluorite).

"posture and manner assumed by sick persons lying in bed," 1866, Modern Latin, from past participle of Latin decumbere "to lie down," from de "down" (see de-) + -cumbere "take a reclining position," related to cubare "lie down" (see cubicle). Sometimes also "a bed-sore." Related: Decubital, decubitation (1660s as "action of lying down").

"one who or that which depresses or pushes down," 1610s, from Latin depressor, agent noun from deprimere "to press down, depress" (see depress). By 1874 as "surgical instrument for pressing down a part of the body."

"act of going down or downward," late 14c., from Old French descension and directly from Latin descensionem (nominative descensio) "a going down, descending," noun of action from past-participle stem of descendere "to come down" (see descend). Related: Descensional.

c. 1200, "straight down, right down, perpendicularly," from down (adv.) + -right. The meaning "thoroughly, completely, utterly," often merely emphatic, is attested from c. 1300. As an adjective, "complete, absolute," from 1560s. Old English had dunrihte "downwards." The inverted form right-down is attested 17c.

"to a lower place," Old English adune (adv.), originally a prepositional phrase, of dune "down, downward;" see a- (1) + down (adv.).

late 14c., "put down by force, conquer," a sense now obsolete, from Old French depresser "to press down, lower," from Late Latin depressare, frequentative of Latin deprimere "press down," from de "down" (see de-) + premere "to press, hold fast, cover, crowd, compress" (from PIE root *per- (4) "to strike").

Meaning "push down physically, press or move downward" is from early 15c.; that of "deject, make gloomy, lower in feeling" is from 1620s; economic sense of "lower in value" is from 1878.