FELLS
Verb
fells
Third-person singular simple present indicative form of fell
Noun
fells
plural of fell
Source: Wiktionary
FELL
Fell,
Definition: imp. of Fall.
Fell, a. Etym: [OE. fel, OF. fel cruel, fierce, perfidious; cf. AS.
fel (only in comp.) OF. fel, as a noun also accus. felon, is fr. LL.
felo, of unknown origin; cf. Arm fall evil, Ir. feal, Arm. falloni
treachery, Ir. & Gael. feall to betray; or cf. OHG. fillan to flay,
torment, akin to E. fell skin. Cf. Felon.]
1. Cruel; barbarous; inhuman; fierce; savage; ravenous.
While we devise fell tortures for thy faults. Shak.
2. Eager; earnest; intent. [Obs.]
I am so fell to my business. Pepys.
Fell, n. Etym: [Cf. L. fel gall, bile, or E. fell, a.]
Definition: Gall; anger; melancholy. [Obs.]
Untroubled of vile fear or bitter fell. Spenser.
Fell, n. Etym: [AS. fell; akin to D. vel, OHG. fel, G. fell, Icel.
fell (in comp.), Goth fill in Þrutsfill leprosy, L. pellis skin, G.
Film, Peel, Pell, n.]
Definition: A skin or hide of a beast with the wool or hair on; a pelt; --
used chiefly in composition, as woolfell.
We are still handling our ewes, and their fells, you know, are
greasy. Shak.
Fell, n. Etym: [Icel. fell, fjally; akin to Sw. fjäll a ridge or
chain of mountains, Dan. fjeld mountain, rock and prob. to G. fels
rock, or perh. to feld field, E. field.]
1. A barren or rocky hill. T. Gray.
2. A wild field; a moor. Dryton.
Fell, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Felled; p. pr. & vb. n. Felling.] Etym:
[AS. fellan, a causative verb fr. feallan to fall; akin to D. vellen,
G. fällen, Icel. fella, Sw. fälla, Dan. fælde. See Fall, v. i.]
Definition: To cause to fall; to prostrate; to bring down or to the ground;
to cut down.
Stand, or I'll fell thee down. Shak.
Fell, n. (Mining)
Definition: The finer portions of ore which go through the meshes, when the
ore is sorted by sifting.
Fell, v. t. Etym: [Cf. Gael. fill to fold, plait, Sw. fåll a hem.]
Definition: To sew or hem; -- said of seams.
Fell, n.
1. (Sewing)
Definition: A form of seam joining two pieces of cloth, the edges being
folded together and the stitches taken through both thicknesses.
2. (Weaving)
Definition: The end of a web, formed by the last thread of the weft.
FALL
Fall (fall), v. i. [imp. Fell; p. p. Fallen; p. pr. & vb. n.
Falling.] Etym: [AS. feallan; akin to D. vallen, OS. & OHG. fallan,
G. fallen, Icel. Falla, Sw. falla, Dan. falde, Lith. pulti, L.
fallere to deceive, Gr. sfa`llein to cause to fall, Skr. sphal,
sphul, to tremble. Cf. Fail, Fell, v. t., to cause to fall.]
1. To Descend, either suddenly or gradually; particularly, to descend
by the force of gravity; to drop; to sink; as, the apple falls; the
tide falls; the mercury falls in the barometer.
I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Luke x. 18.
2. To cease to be erect; to take suddenly a recumbent posture; to
become prostrate; to drop; as, a child totters and falls; a tree
falls; a worshiper falls on his knees.
I fell at his feet to worship him. Rev. xix. 10.
3. To find a final outlet; to discharge its waters; to empty; -- with
into; as, the river Rhone falls into the Mediterranean.
4. To become prostrate and dead; to die; especially, to die by
violence, as in battle.
A thousand shall fall at thy side. Ps. xci. 7.
He rushed into the field, and, foremost fighting, fell. Byron.
5. To cease to be active or strong; to die away; to lose strength; to
subside; to become less intense; as, the wind falls.
6. To issue forth into life; to be brought forth; -- said of the
young of certain animals. Shak.
7. To decline in power, glory, wealth, or importance; to become
insignificant; to lose rank or position; to decline in weight, value,
price etc.; to become less; as, the falls; stocks fell two points.
I am a poor falle man, unworthy now To be thy lord and master. Shak.
The greatness of these Irish lords suddenly fell and vanished. Sir J.
Davies.
8. To be overthrown or captured; to be destroyed.
Heaven and earth will witness, If Rome must fall, that we are
innocent. Addison.
9. To descend in character or reputation; to become degraded; to sink
into vice, error, or sin; to depart from the faith; to apostatize; to
sin.
Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall
after the same example of unbelief. Heb. iv. 11.
10. To become insnared or embarrassed; to be entrapped; to be worse
off than before; asm to fall into error; to fall into difficulties.
11. To assume a look of shame or disappointment; to become or appear
dejected; -- said of the countenance.
Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. Gen. iv. 5.
I have observed of late thy looks are fallen. Addison.
12. To sink; to languish; to become feeble or faint; as, our spirits
rise and fall with our fortunes.
13. To pass somewha suddenly, and passively, into a new state of body
or mind; to become; as, to fall asleep; to fall into a passion; to
fall in love; to fall into temptation.
14. To happen; to to come to pass; to light; to befall; to issue; to
terminate.
The Romans fell on this model by chance. Swift.
Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall.
Ruth. iii. 18.
They do not make laws, they fall into customs. H. Spencer.
15. To come; to occur; to arrive.
The vernal equinox, which at the Nicene Council fell on the 21st of
March, falls now [1694] about ten days sooner. Holder.
16. To begin with haste, ardor, or vehemence; to rush or hurry; as,
they fell to blows.
They now no longer doubted, but fell to work heart and soul. Jowett
(Thucyd. ).
17. To pass or be transferred by chance, lot, distribution,
inheritance, or otherwise; as, the estate fell to his brother; the
kingdom fell into the hands of his rivals.
18. To belong or appertain.
If to her share some female errors fall, Look on her face, and you'll
forget them all. Pope.
19. To be dropped or uttered carelessly; as, an unguarded expression
fell from his lips; not a murmur fell from him. To fall abroad of
(Naut.), to strike against; -- applied to one vessel coming into
collision with another.
– To fall among, to come among accidentally or unexpectedly.
– To fall astern (Naut.), to move or be driven backward; to be left
behind; as, a ship falls astern by the force of a current, or when
outsailed by another.
– To fall away. (a) To lose flesh; to become lean or emaciated; to
pine. (b) To renounce or desert allegiance; to revolt or rebel. (c)
To renounce or desert the faith; to apostatize. "These . . . for a
while believe, and in time of temptation fall away." Luke viii. 13.
(d) To perish; to vanish; to be lost. "How . . . can the soul . . .
fall away into nothing" Addison. (e) To decline gradually; to fade;
to languish, or become faint. "One color falls away by just degrees,
and another rises insensibly." Addison.
– To fall back. (a) To recede or retreat; to give way. (b) To fail
of performing a promise or purpose; not to fulfill.
– To fall back upon. (a) (Mil.) To retreat for safety to (a
stronger position in the rear, as to a fort or a supporting body of
troops). (b) To have recourse to (a reserved fund, or some available
expedient or support).
– To fall calm, to cease to blow; to become calm.
– To fall down. (a) To prostrate one's self in worship. "All kings
shall fall down before him." Ps. lxxii. 11. (b) To sink; to come to
the ground. "Down fell the beauteous youth." Dryden. (c) To bend or
bow, as a suppliant. (d) (Naut.) To sail or drift toward the mouth of
a river or other outlet.
– To fall flat, to produce no response or result; to fail of the
intended effect; as, his speech fell flat.
– To fall foul of. (a) (Naut.) To have a collision with; to become
entangled with (b) To attack; to make an assault upon.
– To fall from, to recede or depart from; not to adhere to; as, to
fall from an agreement or engagement; to fall from allegiance or
duty.
– To fall from grace (M. E. Ch.), to sin; to withdraw from the
faith.
– To fall home (Ship Carp.), to curve inward; -- said of the
timbers or upper parts of a ship's side which are much within a
perpendicular.
– To fall in. (a) To sink inwards; as, the roof fell in. (b) (Mil.)
To take one's proper or assigned place in line; as, to fall in on the
right. (c) To come to an end; to terminate; to lapse; as, on the
death of Mr. B., the annuuity, which he had so long received, fell
in. (d) To become operative. "The reversion, to which he had been
nominated twenty years before, fell in." Macaulay.
– To fall into one's hands, to pass, often suddenly or
unexpectedly, into one's ownership or control; as, to spike cannon
when they are likely to fall into the hands of the enemy.
– To fall in with. (a) To meet with accidentally; as, to fall in
with a friend. (b) (Naut.) To meet, as a ship; also, to discover or
come near, as land. (c) To concur with; to agree with; as, the
measure falls in with popular opinion. (d) To comply; to yield to.
"You will find it difficult to persuade learned men to fall in with
your projects." Addison.
– To fall off. (a) To drop; as, fruits fall off when ripe. (b) To
withdraw; to separate; to become detached; as, friends fall off in
adversity. "Love cools, friendship falls off, brothers divide." Shak.
(c) To perish; to die away; as, words fall off by disuse. (d) To
apostatize; to forsake; to withdraw from the faith, or from
allegiance or duty.
Those captive tribes . . . fell off From God to worship calves.
Milton.
(e) To forsake; to abandon; as, his customers fell off. (f) To
depreciate; to change for the worse; to deteriorate; to become less
valuable, abundant, or interesting; as, a falling off in the wheat
crop; the magazine or the review falls off. "O Hamlet, what a falling
off was there!" Shak. (g) (Naut.) To deviate or trend to the leeward
of the point to which the head of the ship was before directed; to
fall to leeward.
– To fall on. (a) To meet with; to light upon; as, we have fallen
on evil days. (b) To begin suddenly and eagerly. "Fall on, and try
the appetite to eat." Dryden. (c) To begin an attack; to assault; to
assail. "Fall on, fall on, and hear him not." Dryden. (d) To drop on;
to descend on.
– To fall out. (a) To quarrel; to begin to contend.
A soul exasperated in ills falls out With everything, its friend,
itself. Addison.
(b) To happen; to befall; to chance. "There fell out a bloody quarrel
betwixt the frogs and the mice." L'Estrange. (c) (Mil.) To leave the
ranks, as a soldier.
– To fall over. (a) To revolt; to desert from one side to another.
(b) To fall beyond. Shak.
– To fall short, to be deficient; as, the corn falls short; they
all fall short in duty.
– To fall through, to come to nothing; to fail; as, the engageent
has fallen through.
– To fall to, to begin. "Fall to, with eager joy, on homely food."
Dryden.
– To fall under. (a) To come under, or within the limits of; to be
subjected to; as, they fell under the jurisdiction of the emperor.
(b) To come under; to become the subject of; as, this point did not
fall under the cognizance or deliberations of the court; these things
do not fall under human sight or observation. (c) To come within; to
be ranged or reckoned with; to be subordinate to in the way of
classification; as, these substances fall under a different class or
order.
– To fall upon. (a) To attack. [See To fall on.] (b) To attempt; to
have recourse to. "I do not intend to fall upon nice disquisitions."
Holder. (c) To rush against.
Note: Fall primarily denotes descending motion, either in a
perpendicular or inclined direction, and, in most of its
applications, implies, literally or figuratively, velocity, haste,
suddenness, or violence. Its use is so various, and so mush
diversified by modifying words, that it is not easy to enumerate its
senses in all its applications.
Fall, v. t.
1. To let fall; to drop. [Obs.]
For every tear he falls, a Trojan bleeds. Shak.
2. To sink; to depress; as, to fall the voice. [Obs.]
3. To diminish; to lessen or lower. [Obs.]
Upon lessening interest to four per cent, you fall the price of your
native commodities. Locke.
4. To bring forth; as, to fall lambs. [R.] Shak.
5. To fell; to cut down; as, to fall a tree. [Prov. Eng. & Local,
U.S.]
Fall, n.
1. The act of falling; a dropping or descending be the force of
gravity; descent; as, a fall from a horse, or from the yard of ship.
2. The act of dropping or tumbling from an erect posture; as, he was
walking on ice, and had a fall.
3. Death; destruction; overthrow; ruin.
They thy fall conspire. Denham.
Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
Prov. xvi. 18.
4. Downfall; degradation; loss of greatness or office; termination of
greatness, power, or dominion; ruin; overthrow; as, the fall of the
Roman empire.
Beholds thee glorious only in thy fall. Pope.
5. The surrender of a besieged fortress or town ; as, the fall of
Sebastopol.
6. Diminution or decrease in price or value; depreciation; as, the
fall of prices; the fall of rents.
7. A sinking of tone; cadence; as, the fall of the voice at the close
of a sentence.
8. Declivity; the descent of land or a hill; a slope.
9. Descent of water; a cascade; a cataract; a rush of water down a
precipice or steep; -- usually in the plural, sometimes in the
singular; as, the falls of Niagara.
10. The discharge of a river or current of water into the ocean, or
into a lake or pond; as, the fall of the Po into the Gulf of Venice.
Addison.
11. Extent of descent; the distance which anything falls; as, the
water of a stream has a fall of five feet.
12. The season when leaves fall from trees; autumn.
What crowds of patients the town doctor kills, Or how, last fall, he
raised the weekly bills. Dryden.
13. That which falls; a falling; as, a fall of rain; a heavy fall of
snow.
14. The act of felling or cutting down. "The fall of timber."
Johnson.
15. Lapse or declinsion from innocence or goodness. Specifically: The
first apostasy; the act of our first parents in eating the forbidden
fruit; also, the apostasy of the rebellious angels.
16. Formerly, a kind of ruff or band for the neck; a falling band; a
faule. B. Jonson.
17. That part (as one of the ropes) of a tackle to which the power is
applied in hoisting. Fall herring (Zoöl.), a herring of the Atlantic
(Clupea mediocris); -- also called tailor herring, and hickory shad.
– To try a fall, to try a bout at wrestling. Shak.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition