Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

down east

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.08 in modern English

Syllables
down east
IPA
12
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
1
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Northeastern New England (particularly the easternmost section of the U.S. state of Maine) and Canada's Maritime provinces (sometimes including the Gaspé Peninsula and Newfoundland), an area that corresponds to the historical French territory of Acadia.

adj

Of the Maritimes, Maine or adjoining parts.

adv

In or into the Maritimes, Maine or adjoining parts.

Example Sentences

Etymology

* Typically traced to 1817 nautical terminology referring to direction not location: in the warm months, the prevailing winds along the Atlantic coast of New England and Canada blow from the southwest, meaning ships sail downwind to go east.

Phrases

Down Easter down-easter

Questions

What does down east mean?
Northeastern New England (particularly the easternmost section of the U.S. state of Maine) and Canada's Maritime provinces (sometimes including the Gaspé Peninsula and Newfoundland), an area that corresponds to the historical French territory of Acadia.
Where does down east come from?
* Typically traced to 1817 nautical terminology referring to direction not location: in the warm months, the prevailing winds along the Atlantic coast of New England and Canada blow from the southwest, meaning ships sail downwind to go east.

How to pronounce down east

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “down east”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “down east”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “down east” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.