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definitions

feller

1
[fel-er]
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR feller ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Informal.

fellow.

Origin of feller

1
First recorded in 1815–25; orig. dial.; by reduction of (ō) to (ə) and merger with words ending in -er

feller

2
[fel-er]

noun

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

Origin of feller

2
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

3
[fel]

adjective

fierce; cruel; dreadful; savage.
destructive; deadly: fell poison; fell disease.

Idioms

    at/in one fell swoop. swoop(def 5).

Origin of fell

3
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

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.

  • 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.

  • I didn't have any small change so I handed the feller a five-dollar bill.

British Dictionary definitions for feller

feller

1

noun

a person or thing that fells
an attachment on a sewing machine for felling seams

feller

2

noun

a nonstandard variant of fellow

fell

1

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

2

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

3

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
  1. a mountain, hill, or tract of upland moor
  2. (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."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with feller

fell

see one fell swoop.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.