# fell

Pronunciation: say "FEL" /fɛl/

## Verb

1. Past tense of fall. — simple past of fall
   - Simple: Past tense of fall. Use it for the past.
   - _The vase fell off the shelf during the earthquake._
   - _Snow fell heavily across the valley overnight._
2. To make something or someone fall, especially to cut down a tree, or to knock down or kill a person.
   - Simple: To cut down a tree, or to knock someone to the ground or kill them.
   - _The storm felled power lines along the entire coast._
   - _Crews must fell the dead pines before winter sets in._
6. Past participle of fall. Nonstandard; the standard form is fallen. *(nonstandard)* — past participle of fall
   - Simple: Past participle of fall. A nonstandard form used in place of 'fallen'.
   - _By the time help arrived, three of them had fell ill._
   - _They had fell behind on every payment that year._
7. To stitch down a protruding flap of fabric, such as a seam allowance or pleat, so that it lies flat.
   - Simple: To sew down a raised edge of cloth so that it lies flat.
   - _Fell the seam allowance flat before pressing the garment._
   - _The tailor fells the inside seam to keep it from fraying._

## Adjective

3. Of a fierce and cruel nature; ruthless, savage, and unsparing.
   - Simple: Very cruel and fierce, showing no mercy.
   - _The warlord was known for his fell temper and merciless raids._
   - _A fell light burned in the stranger's eyes as he drew his blade._

## Noun

4. A high, bare hill, ridge or stretch of upland moor, especially in northern England, Scotland or Scandinavia. *(dialectal, Scotland)*
   - Simple: A high, open hill or area of wild upland, especially in northern England.
   - _The hikers traced a path along the high fell above the lake._
   - _Snow lingered on the northern fells well into spring._
5. An instance or season of cutting down timber.
   - Simple: The cutting down of trees for wood.

## Adjective

8. Eager, earnest, and intent. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Very eager and set on doing something.

## Noun

9. Anger; bitterness of spirit; melancholy. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Bitter anger, or a heavy feeling of sadness.

## Other meanings

- (noun) The sewing that secures a cloth fold, especially the section of a kilt between the waist and the seat where stitching holds the pleats flat.
- (noun) The skin or hide of an animal, with or without its hair or wool; in older poetic use, human skin.
- (adverb) In a sharp, fierce manner.
- (adjective) Strong and fiery to the senses; biting, keen, sharp, or pungent.
- (adjective) Very large in size; huge.
- (noun) The end of a length of woven cloth, formed by the last thread of the weft.
- (noun) The finer portions of ore that pass through the mesh when ore is sorted by sifting.

## Origin

**Meanings 2, 5, 7** — Old English fellan or fiellan ("to cause to fall, strike down, cut down, kill") became Middle English fellen. It goes back to Proto-Germanic *fallijaną, the causative form of *fallaną ("to fall"). Dutch vellen, German fällen, Danish fælde, and Norwegian felle are relatives.
**Meaning 4** — From Middle English fell ("hill, mountain"), from Old Norse fell, fjall ("mountain"), from Proto-Germanic *felzą, from Proto-Indo-European *pels-. It is a doublet of fjeld and is related to German Felsen ("boulder, cliff") and Norwegian Bokmål fjell ("mountain").
**Meanings 3, 8** — From Middle English fel, fell ("strong, fierce, terrible, cruel"), either from Old French fel or from Old English *fel, *fæle ("cruel, savage, fierce"). It is related to Middle Dutch fel ("wrathful, cruel"), Danish fæl ("hideous, grim"), and the word felon.
**Meaning 9** — It more probably comes from the adjective fell ("fierce, cruel") above, though Latin fel ("gall, poison, bitterness") is another possible source.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/fell (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).