Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th Edition
DOWNWARD
I. adverb or downwards
Date: 13th century
1. from a higher to a lower place, toward a direction that is the opposite of up, from a higher to a lower condition,
3. from an earlier time, from an ancestor or predecessor,
II. adjective
Date: circa 1552
moving or extending downward, descending from a head, origin, or source, downwardly adverb downwardness noun