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Soheil1 Posted 14 years ago
Vocabulary

Lower

Hi.
What does 'Lower' mean in:
'The presence of people in what is now called the Lower Mainland of British Columbia dates from 8,000 to 10,000 years ago'

May I replace it with 'southern'?

Thanks in advance!
  

Top answer

"Lower" in this context is generally used to mean "further downstream". It does not mean "southern" - for example, the Lower Nile is the most northerly part of the Nile.

— CSnyder

  • "Lower" in this context is generally used to mean "further downstream".
  • It does not mean "southern" - for example, the Lower Nile is the most northerly part of the Nile.
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6 Answers
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"Lower" in this context is generally used to mean "further downstream". It does not mean "southern" - for example, the Lower Nile is the most northerly part of the Nile.
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may I replace it with 'farther'?
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No. It's not replaceable. There are no real synonyms for "lower" in this context. If you wanted to use "farther" you'd have to use something like the cumbersome phrase "farther from the source of the X river".
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Hi,

I have a question about the term "lower" in a different situation.

http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/downtown defines a common noun "downtown" as "The lower part or the business center of a city or town." Can I interpret this "lower" as "south
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Absolutely not. In fact, I don't even know what the dictionary means by "lower."
Downtown is where the main part of town is. The buildings are closer together, the major stores and businesses are there.
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Thank you, BarbaraPA.

So it seems the definition of "http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/uptown," which is "The upper part of a town or city," doesn't make sense, either.
But then, Cambridge says "
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