Fell Definition

fĕl
felled, felling, fells, fellest
verb
Webster's New World
To cause to fall; knock down.
To fell an opponent with a blow.
Webster's New World
To cut down (a tree or trees)
Webster's New World
To kill.
Was felled by an assassin's bullet.
American Heritage
To turn over (the rough edge of a seam) and sew down flat on the underside.
Webster's New World
noun
fells
The trees cut down in one season.
Webster's New World
A felled seam.
Webster's New World
An animal's hide or skin.
Webster's New World
A thin membrane of connective tissue under the hide.
Webster's New World
A rocky or barren hill.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
adjective
fellest
Fierce; terrible; cruel.
Webster's New World
Deadly.
Webster's New World
Capable of destroying; lethal.
A fell blow.
American Heritage
Dire; sinister.
By some fell chance.
American Heritage
Sharp and biting.
American Heritage
adverb
Wiktionary
idiom
at
  • All at once.
American Heritage

Other Word Forms of Fell

Noun

Singular:
fell
Plural:
fells

Adjective

Base Form:
fell
Superlative:
fellest

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Fell

Origin of Fell

  • From Middle English fel, fell (“strong, fierce, terrible, cruel, angry”), from Old English *fel, *felo, *fæle (“cruel, savage, fierce”) (only in compounds, wælfel (“bloodthirsty”), ealfelo (“evil, baleful”), ælfæle (“very dire”), etc.), from Proto-Germanic *faluz (“wicked, cruel, terrifying”), from Proto-Indo-European *pol- (“to pour, flow, swim, fly”). Cognate with Old Frisian fal (“cruel”), Old Dutch fel (“wrathful, cruel, bad, base”), Danish fæl (“disgusting, hideous, ghastly, grim”), Middle High German vālant (“imp”). See felon.

    From Wiktionary

  • From Middle English fellen, from Old English fellan, fiellan (“to cause to fall, strike down, fell, cut down, throw down, defeat, destroy, kill, tumble, cause to stumble”), from Proto-Germanic *fallijaną (“to fell, to cause to fall”), causative of Proto-Germanic *fallaną (“to fall”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pōl- (“to fall”). Cognate with Dutch vellen (“to fell, cut down”), German fällen (“to fell”), Norwegian felle (“to fell”).

    From Wiktionary

  • From Old Norse fell, fjall (“rock, mountain”), from Proto-Germanic *felzą, *fel(e)zaz, *falisaz (compare German Felsen 'boulder, cliff', Middle Low German vels 'hill, mountain'), from Proto-Indo-European *pelso (compare Irish aile 'boulder, cliff', Latin Palatium, Ancient Greek palléa, pélla 'stone', Pashto parša 'id.', Sanskrit pāşāņá 'id.')

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English fell (“hide, skin, fell”), from Old English fell (“hide, skin, pelt”), from Proto-Germanic *fellą (compare West Frisian fel, Dutch, vel, German Fell), from Proto-Indo-European *pélno 'skin, animal hide' (compare Latin pellis 'skin', Lithuanian plėnė 'skin', Russian plená 'pelt', Albanian plah 'to cover', Ancient Greek péllas 'skin').

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English fel from Old English fell pel-3 in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Middle English fel from Old French variant of felon felon1

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Middle English fel from Old Norse fell, fjall mountain, hill

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Middle English fellen from Old English fellan, fyllan

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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