feller

[fel-er]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR feller ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Informal.

fellow.

Origin of feller

First recorded in 1815–25; orig. dial.; by reduction of (ō) to (ə) and merger with words ending in -er

feller

[fel-er]

noun

a person or thing that fells.

Sewing. a person or thing that finishes a seam by felling.

Origin of feller

First recorded in 1350–1400, feller is from the Middle English word fellere. See fell², -er¹

Feller

[fel-er]

noun

Robert William AndrewBobBullet Bob, 1918–2010, U.S. baseball player.

fell

[fel]

adjective

fierce; cruel; dreadful; savage.

destructive; deadly: fell poison; fell disease.

Origin of fell

1250–1300; Middle English fel < Old French, nominative of felon wicked. See felon¹

Related formsfell·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for feller

savage, ferocious, deadly, devastating, brutal, cruel, dangerous, lethal, ruinous, destructive, unrelenting, barbarous, murderous, ruthless, atrocious, inhuman, bloody, fierce, violent, cold-blooded

Examples from the Web for feller

Contemporary Examples of feller

It surely however gives a certain type of feller a thrill, dark and shameful though it may be.
The Dirty Secret Doctors Don't Want You To Know
Kent Sepkowitz
August 22, 2014
Feller also represents victim No. 2, whose story was the subject of bombshell trial testimony.
Sandusky Son to Settle
Diane Dimond
August 18, 2013

Historical Examples of feller

They say't 'What's one man's meat 's pizen t' the other feller,' and I guess it's so enough.
Chip, of the Flying U
B. M. Bower
That's where that feller's credit comes in, you see; and that's where mine comes in.
Tom Sawyer Abroad
Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
A feller's got to have sumpin' besides school-larnin' to draw like him.
The Underdog
F. Hopkinson Smith
You kin imagine how that other feller's cigar tasted when he lighted it ag'in.
A Little Book of Profitable Tales
Eugene Field
Wall I hed a great time with that feller, but I got here at last.
Uncles Josh's Punkin Centre Stories
Cal Stewart

British Dictionary definitions for feller

feller

noun

a person or thing that fells

an attachment on a sewing machine for felling seams

feller

noun

a nonstandard variant of fellow

fell

verb (tr)

to cut or knock downto fell a tree; to fell an opponent

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

noun

US and Canadian the timber felled in one season

a seam finished by felling

Derived Formsfellable, adjective

Word Origin for fell

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

fell

adjective

archaic cruel or fierce; terrible

archaic destructive or deadlya fell disease

one fell swoop a single hasty action or occurrence

Derived Formsfellness, noun

Word Origin for fell

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

fell

verb

the past tense of fall

fell

⁴

noun

an animal skin or hide

Word Origin for fell

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

fell

⁵

noun

(often plural) Northern English and Scot

a mountain, hill, or tract of upland moor
(in combination)fell-walking

Word Origin for fell

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for feller

fell

n.1

"rocky hill," c.1300, from Old Norse fiall "mountain," from Proto-Germanic *felzam- "rock" (cf. German Fels "stone, rock"), from PIE root *pel(i)s- "rock, cliff."

fell

v.2

Old English feoll; past tense of fall (v.).

fell

n.2

"skin or hide of an animal," Old English fel, from Proto-Germanic *fellom- (cf. Old Frisian fel, Old Saxon fel, Dutch vel, Old High German fel, German fell, Old Norse fiall, Gothic fill), from PIE *pello- (see film (n.)).

fell

v.1

Old English fællan (Mercian), fyllan (West Saxon) "make fall, cause to fall," also "strike down, demolish, kill," from Proto-Germanic *fallijanan (cf. Old Frisian falla, Old Saxon fellian, Dutch fellen, Old High German fellen, German fällen, Old Norse fella, Danish fælde), causative of *fallan (Old English feallan, see fall (v.)), showing i-mutation. Related: Felled; feller; felling.

fell

adj.

"cruel," late 13c., from Old French fel "cruel, fierce, vicious," from Medieval Latin fello "villain" (see felon). Phrase at one fell swoop is from "Macbeth."

Idioms and Phrases with feller

fell

see one fell swoop.