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

• fellable adjective
• fellness noun

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 national data agency’s advance tally of receipts indicated retail sales fell 0.7% from the month before in September.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

In August, Zimmerman said that the company’s second-quarter results fell short of its expectations, citing poor weather and a challenging consumer environment.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“Affordability likely improved further at the margin in September, as mortgage rates fell further,” Stephen Stanley at Santander U.S.

Read more on MarketWatch

The case fell apart when the administration of Prime Minister Keir Starmer refused to provide a witness to testify that China is an “enemy” of the U.K.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The stock fell 0.5% on Wednesday and has been broadly flat over the past month.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

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