fell

¹

[fel]

verb

1. simple past tense of fall.

fell

²

[fel]

verb (used with object)

1. to knock, strike, shoot, or cut down; cause to fall: to fell a tree.

   to fell a moose;

   to fell a tree.

2. Sewing.,  to finish (a seam) by sewing the edge down flat.

noun

1. Lumbering.,  the amount of timber cut down in one season.

2. Sewing.,  a seam finished by felling.

fell

³

[fel]

adjective

1. fierce; ferocious; dreadful; savage.

2. destructive; deadly.

   fell poison;

   fell disease.

fell

⁴

[fel]

noun

Chiefly Literary.

1. the skin or hide of an animal; pelt.

fell

⁵

[fel]

noun

Scot. and North England.

1. an upland pasture, moor, or thicket; a highland plateau.

fell

¹

/ fɛl /

verb

1. to cut or knock down

   to fell a tree

   to fell an opponent

2. needlework to fold under and sew flat (the edges of a seam)

noun

1. the timber felled in one season

2. a seam finished by felling

fell

²

/ fɛl /

adjective

1. archaic,  cruel or fierce; terrible

2. archaic,  destructive or deadly

   a fell disease

3. a single hasty action or occurrence

fell

³

/ fɛl /

noun

1. (often plural)

   1. a mountain, hill, or tract of upland moor

   2. ( in combination )

      fell-walking

fell

⁴

/ fɛl /

verb

1. the past tense of fall

fell

⁵

/ fɛl /

noun

1. an animal skin or hide

Other Word Forms

• fellness noun
• fellable adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of fell¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English fellen, fillen, fullen, Old English fellan, fyllan “to cut, cut down, destroy, shed (tears),” causative of feallan “to fall, fall down”; cognate with Gothic falljan, Old Frisian falla, fella, Old High German fellen, German fällen “to make fall”; fall

Origin of fell²

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English fel “treacherous, deceitful, false,” from Old French, nominative of felon “wicked”; felon ¹

Origin of fell³

First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English fel(l); cognate with Dutch vel, German Fell, Old Norse -fjall (as in berfjall “bearskin”), Gothic -fill (in thrutsfill “leprosy,” literally “scab skin”); akin to Latin pellis “skin, hide,” Greek péltē “small, light, leather-covered shield”

Origin of fell⁴

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English fel “hill, mountain; upland or pasture; a moor or down”; from Old Norse fjall, -fell, “hill, mountain,” akin to German Fels “rock, cliff”

Word History and Origins

Origin of fell¹

Old English fellan ; related to Old Norse fella , Old High German fellen ; see _fall

Origin of fell²

C13 fel , from Old French: cruel, from Medieval Latin fellō villain; see _felon ¹

Origin of fell³

C13: from Old Norse fjall ; related to Old High German felis rock

Origin of fell⁴

Old English; related to Old High German fel skin, Old Norse berfjall bearskin, Latin pellis skin; see _peel ¹

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. at / in one fell swoop. swoop.

see one fell swoop.

Example Sentences

The Aug. 15 summit fell apart almost as soon as it began.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Raanan, a collector of Jewish artefacts, said he fell in love with the book before even seeing it, when an antiques dealer told him about its existence.

Read more on Barron's

The stock fell and then stagnated, seemingly relentlessly, for years, before a rebound began in earnest in late 2024.

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The stock fell and then stagnated, seemingly relentlessly, for years, before a rebound began in earnest in late 2024.

Read more on Barron's

Here are the 20 stocks among this “tech” group of 84 that fell the most from the end of October through Wednesday:

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Related Words

• drop 
• flatten 
• raze 
• shoot 
• shoot down 
• slash 
• tumble