Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Fall

Fall

(fa̤l)
,
Verb.
I.
[
imp.
Fell
(fĕl)
;
p. p.
Fallen
(fa̤l′’n)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Falling
.]
[AS.
feallan
; akin to D.
vallen
, OS. & OHG.
fallan
, G.
fallen
, Icel.
Falla
, Sw.
falla
, Dan.
falde
, Lith.
pulti
, L.
fallere
to deceive, Gr.
σφάλλειν
to cause to fall, Skr.
sphal
,
sphul
, to tremble. Cf.
Fail
,
Fell
,
Verb.
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 price
falls
; stocks
fell
two points.
I am a poor
fallen
man, unworthy now
To be thy lord and master.
Shakespeare
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;
as, 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 somewhat 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
or
To fall back on
.
(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, a more reliable alternative, or some other 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.

(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.
(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.
☞ 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

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To let fall; to drop.
[Obs.]
For every tear he
falls
, a Trojan bleeds.
Shakespeare
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

,
Noun.
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 declension 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
(Zool.)
,
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.

Webster 1828 Edition

Fall

FALL

,
Verb.
I.
pret. fell; pp. fallen. [L. fallo, to fail, to deceive, Gr.; Heb. to fall. Fail agrees better with Heb., but these words may have had one primitive root, the sense of which was to move, to recede, to pass. See Foul.]
1.
To drop from a higher place; to descend by the power of gravity alone. Rain falls from the clouds; a man falls from his horse; ripe fruits fall from trees; an ox falls into a pit.
I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Luke 10.
2.
To drop from an erect posture.
I fell at his feet to worship him. Rev. 19.
3.
To disembogue; to pass at the outlet; to flow out of its channel into a pond, lake or sea, as a river. The Rhone falls into the Mediterranean sea. The Danube falls into the Euxine. The Mississippi falls into the gulf of Mexico.
4.
To depart from the faith, or from rectitude; to apostatize. Adam fell by eating the forbidden fruit.
Labor to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. Heb. 4.
5.
To die; particularly by violence.
Ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. Lev. 26.
A thousand shall fall at thy side. Ps. 91.
6.
To come to an end suddenly; to vanish; to perish.
The greatness of these Irish lords suddenly fell and vanished.
7.
To be degraded; to sink into disrepute or disgrace; to be plunged into misery; as, to fall from an elevated station, or from a prosperous state.
8.
To decline in power, wealth or glory; to sink into weakness; to be overthrown or ruined. This is the renowned Tyre; but oh, how fallen.
Heaven and earth will witness, if Rome must fall, that we are innocent.
9.
To pass into a worse state than the former; to come; as, to fall into difficulties; to fall under censure of imputation; to fall into error or absurdity; to fall into a snare. In these and similar phrases, the sense of suddenness, accident or ignorance is often implied; but not always.
10.
To sink; to be lowered. The mercury in a thermometer rises and falls with the increase and diminution of heat. The water of a river rises and falls. The tide falls.
11.
To decrease; to be diminished in weight or value. The price of goods falls with plenty and rises with scarcity. Pliny tells us, the as fell from a pound to two ounces in the first Punic war.
12.
To sink; not to amount to the full.
The greatness of finances and revenue doth fall under computation.
13.
To be rejected; to sink into disrepute.
This book must stand or fall with thee.
14.
To decline from violence to calmness from intensity to remission. The wind falls and a calm succeeds.
At length her fury fell.
15.
To pass into a new state of body or mind; to become; as, to fall asleep; to fall distracted; to fall sick; to fall into rage or passion; to fall in love; to fall into temptation.
16.
To sink into an air of dejection, discontent, anger, sorrow or shame; applied to the countenance or look.
Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. Gen. 4.
I have observed of late thy looks are fallen.
17.
To happen; to befall; to come.
Since this fortune falls to you.
18.
To light on; to come by chance.
The Romans fell on this model by chance.
19.
To come; to rush on; to assail.
Fear and dread shall fall on them. Ex. 15.
And fear fell on them all. Act. 19.
20.
To come; to arrive.
The vernal equinox, which at the Nicene council fell on the 21st of March, falls now about ten days sooner.
21.
To come unexpectedly.
It happened this evening that we fell into a pleasing walk.
22.
To begin with haste, ardor or vehemence; to rush or hurry to. They fell to blows.
The mixt multitude fell to lusting. Num. 11.
23.
To pass or be transferred by chance, lot, distribution, inheritance or otherwise, as possession or property. The estate or the province fell to his brother. The kingdom fell into the hands of his rival. A large estate fell to his heirs.
24.
To become the property of; to belong or appertain to.
If to her share some female errors fall.
Look in her face; and you'll forget them all.
25.
To be dropped or uttered carelessly. Some expressions fell from him. An unguarded expression fell from his lips. Not a word fell from him on the subject.
26.
To sink; to languish; to become feeble or faint. Our hopes and fears rise and fall with good or ill success.
27.
To be brought forth. Take care of lambs when they first fall.
28.
To issue; to terminate.
Sit still, my daughter, till thou knowest how the matter will fall. Ruth 3.
To fall aboard of, to strike against another ship.
To fall astern, to move or be driven backward; or to remain behind. A ship falls astern by the force of a current, or when outsailed by another.
1.
To fall away, to lose flesh; to become lean or emaciated; to pine.
2.
To renounce or desert allegiance; to revolt or rebel.
3.
To renounce or desert the faith; to apostatize; to sink into wickedness.
These for awhile believe, and in time of temptation fall away. Luke 8.
4.
To perish; to be ruined; to be lost.
How can the soul - fall away into nothing.
5.
To decline gradually; to fade; to languish, or become faint.
One color falls away by just degrees, and another rises insensibly.
1.
To fall back, to recede; to give way.
2.
To fail of performing a promise or purpose; not to fulfill.
To fall calm, to cease to blow; to become calm.
1.
To fall down, to prostrate one's self in worship.
All nations shall fall down before him. Ps. 72.
2.
To sink; to come to the ground.
Down fell the beauteous youth.
3.
To bend or bow as a suppliant. Isaiah 14.
4.
To sail or pass towards the mouth of a river, or other outlet.
To fall foul, to attack; to make an assault.
1.
To fall from, to recede from; to depart; not to adhere; as, to fall from an agreement or engagement.
2.
To depart from allegiance or duty; to revolt.
1.
To fall in, to concur; to agree with. The measure falls in with popular opinion.
2.
To comply; to yield to.
You will find it difficult to persuade learned men to fall in with your projects.
3.
To come in; to join; to enter. Fall into the ranks; fall in on the right.
To fall in with, to meet, as a ship; also, to discover or come near, as land.
1.
To fall off, to withdraw; to separate; to be broken or detached. friends fall off in adversity.
Love cools, friendship falls off, brothers divide.
2.
To perish; to die away. Words fall off by disuse.
3.
To apostatize; to forsake; to withdraw from the faith, or from allegiance or duty.
Those captive tribes fell off from God to worship calves.
4.
To forsake; to abandon. His subscribers fell off.
5.
To drop. Fruits fall off when ripe.
6.
To depreciate; to depart from former excellence; to become less valuable or interesting. The magazine or the review falls off; it has fallen off.
7.
To deviate or depart from the course directed, or to which the head of the ship was before directed; to fall to leeward.
1.
To fall on, to begin suddenly and eagerly.
Fall on, and try thy appetite to eat.
2.
To begin an attack; to assault; to assail.
Fall on, fall on and hear him not.
3.
To drop on; to descend on.
1.
To fall out, to quarrel; to begin to contend.
A soul exasperated in ills, falls out with every thing, its friend, itself -
2.
To happen; to befall; to chance.
There fell out a bloody quarrel betwixt the frogs and the mice.
1.
To fall over, to revolt; to desert from one side to another.
2.
To fall beyond.
To fall short, to be deficient. The corn falls short. We all fall short in duty.
1.
To fall to, to begin hastily and eagerly.
Fall to, with eager joy, on homely food.
2.
To apply one's self to. He will never after fall to labor.
They fell to raising money, under pretense of the relief of Ireland.
1.
To fall under, to come under, or within the limits of; to be subjected to. They fell under the jurisdiction of the emperor.
2.
To come under; to become the subject of. This point did not fall under the cognizance or deliberations of the court. These things do not fall under human sight or observation.
3.
To come within; to be ranged or reckoned with. These substances fall under a different class or order.
1.
To upon, to attack. [See to fall on.]
2.
To rush against.
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 much 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. And fall thy edgeless sword. I am willing to fall this argument.
[This application is obsolete.]
2.
To sink; to depress; as, to raise or fall the voice.
3.
To diminish; to lessen or lower; as, to fall the price of commodities. [Little used.]
4.
To bring forth; as, to fall lambs. [Little used.]
5.
To fell; to cut down; as, to fall a tree. [This use is now common in America, and fell and fall are probably from a common root.]

FALL

,
Noun.
1.
The act of dropping or descending from a higher to a lower place by gravity; descent; as a fall from a horse or from the yard of a ship.
2.
The act of dropping or tumbling from an erect posture. he was walking on ice and had a fall.
3.
Death; destruction; overthrow.
Our fathers had a great fall before our enemies.
4.
Ruin; destruction.
They conspire thy fall.
5.
Downfall; degradation; loss of greatness or office; as the fall of Cardinal Wolsey.
Behold thee glorious only in thy fall.
6.
Declension of greatness, power or dominion; ruin; as the fall of the Roman empire.
7.
Diminution; decrease of price or value; depreciation; as the fall of prices; the fall of rents; the fall of interest.
8.
Declination of sound; a sinking of tone; cadence; as the fall of the voice at the close of a sentence.
9.
Declivity; the descent of land or a hill; a slope.
10.
Descent of water; a cascade; a cataract; a rush of water down a steep place; usually in the plural; sometimes in the singular; as the falls of Niagara, or the Mohawk; the fall of the Hoosatonuc at Canaan. Fall is applied to a perpendicular descent, or to one that is very steep. When the descent is moderate, we name it rapids. Custom, however, sometimes deviates from this rule, and the rapids of rivers are called falls.
11.
The outlet or 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.
12.
Extent of descent; the distance which any thing falls; as, the water of a pond has a fall of five feet.
13.
The fall of the leaf; the season when leaves fall from trees; autumn.
14.
That which falls; a falling; as a fall of rain or snow.
15.
The act of felling or cutting down; as the fall of timber.
16.
Fall, or the fall, by way of distinction, the apostasy; the act of our first parents in eating the forbidden fruit; also, the apostasy of the rebellious angels.
17.
Formerly, a kind of vail.
18.
In seamen's language, the loose end of a tackle.
19.
In Great Britain, a term applied to several measures, linear, superficial and solid.

Definition 2024

Fall

Fall

See also: fall and fäll

English

Proper noun

Fall

  1. (theology) The sudden fall of humanity into a state of sin, as brought about by the transgression of Adam and Eve. [from 14th c.]

Translations

German

Etymology

From Old High German val.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /fal/
  • Rhymes: -al

Noun

Fall m ‎(genitive Falls or Falles, plural Fälle)

  1. case (actual event, situation, or fact; piece of work; instance or event as a topic of study; legal proceeding; grammar: specific inflection of a word; medicine: instance of a specific condition or set of symptoms)
  2. fall, drop
  3. fall, decline
    der Fall des Römischen Reiches‎ ― the fall of the Roman Empire

Declension

Derived terms

Related terms

Coordinate terms

(grammar: specific inflection of a word):

Synonyms

  • (grammar: specific inflection of a word): Kasus m

Luxembourgish

Etymology

From Old High German val.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /fɑl/
    Rhymes: -ɑl

Noun

Fall m ‎(plural Fäll)

  1. case, situation, circumstance

Related terms

fall

fall

See also: Fall and fäll

English

Noun

fall ‎(plural falls)

Fall (season) in the United States
  1. The act of moving to a lower position under the effect of gravity.
  2. A reduction in quantity, pitch, etc.
  3. (chiefly Canada, US, obsolete elsewhere) The time of the year when the leaves typically fall from the trees; autumn; the season of the year between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice. [from 16th c.]
  4. A loss of greatness or status.
    the fall of Rome‎
  5. (sports) A crucial event or circumstance.
    1. (cricket, of a wicket) The action of a batsman being out.
    2. (curling) A defect in the ice which causes stones thrown into an area to drift in a given direction.
    3. (wrestling) An instance of a wrestler being pinned to the mat.
  6. A hairpiece for women consisting of long strands of hair on a woven backing, intended primarily to cover hair loss.
    • 2004, Zoe Diana Draelos, Hair Care: An Illustrated Dermatologic Handbook, ISBN 0203314247, page 202:
      Female patients with localized hair loss on the top of scalp could select a fall or a demiwig to camouflage crown and anterior scalp loss.
  7. (informal, US) Blame or punishment for a failure or misdeed.
    He set up his rival to take the fall.‎
  8. The part of the rope of a tackle to which the power is applied in hoisting (usu. plural).
    Have the goodness to secure the falls of the mizzen halyards.‎
  9. See falls
  10. An old Scots unit of measure equal to six ells.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Verb

fall ‎(third-person singular simple present falls, present participle falling, simple past fell or (in archaic sense only) felled, past participle fallen or (in archaic sense only) felled)

A sign warning about the danger of falling rocks.
  1. (heading, intransitive) To move downwards.
    1. To move to a lower position under the effect of gravity.
      Thrown from a cliff, the stone fell 100 feet before hitting the ground.‎
      • 1915, Mrs. Belloc Lowndes, The Lodger, chapter II:
        There was a neat hat-and-umbrella stand, and the stranger's weary feet fell soft on a good, serviceable dark-red drugget, which matched in colour the flock-paper on the walls.
    2. To come down, to drop or descend.
      The rain fell at dawn.‎
    3. To come to the ground deliberately, to prostrate oneself.
      He fell to the floor and begged for mercy.‎
    4. To be brought to the ground.
  2. (transitive) To be moved downwards.
    1. (obsolete) To let fall; to drop.
    2. (obsolete) To sink; to depress.
      to fall the voice‎
    3. (Britain, US, dialect, archaic) To fell; to cut down.
      to fall a tree‎
  3. (intransitive) To happen, to change negatively.
    1. (copulative) To become.
      She has fallen ill.  The children fell asleep in the back of the car.  When did you first fall in love?‎
      • Charles Dickens, Little Dorrit
        At length they stood at the corner from which they had begun, and it had fallen quite dark, and they were no wiser.
    2. To occur (on a certain day of the week, date, or similar); said of an instance of a recurring event such as a holiday or date.
      Thanksgiving always falls on a Thursday.  Last year, Commencement fell on June 3.‎
    3. (intransitive) To collapse; to be overthrown or defeated.
      Rome fell to the Goths in 410 AD.‎
    4. (intransitive, formal, euphemistic) To die, especially in battle or by disease.
      This is a monument to all those who fell in the First World War.‎
    5. (intransitive) To become lower (in quantity, pitch, etc.).
      The candidate's poll ratings fell abruptly after the banking scandal.‎
      • Sir John Davies (c.1569-1626)
        The greatness of these Irish lords suddenly fell and vanished.
      • 1835, Sir John Ross, Sir James Clark Ross, Narrative of a Second Voyage in Search of a North-west Passage …, Vol.1, pp.284-5:
        Towards the following morning, the thermometer fell to 5°; and at daylight, there was not an atom of water to be seen in any direction.
      • 2013 July 20, “Old soldiers?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
        Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine. […] One thing that is true, though, is that murder rates have fallen over the centuries, as policing has spread and the routine carrying of weapons has diminished. Modern society may not have done anything about war. But peace is a lot more peaceful.
    6. (followed by a determining word or phrase) To become; to be affected by or befallen with a calamity; to change into the state described by words following; to become prostrated literally or figuratively (see Usage notes below).
      Our senator fell into disrepute because of the banking scandal.‎
  4. (transitive) To be allotted to; to arrive through chance, fate, or inheritance.
    And so it falls to me to make this important decision.  The estate fell to his brother; the kingdom fell into the hands of his rivals.‎
    • Alexander Pope (1688-1744)
      If to her share some female errors fall, / Look on her face, and you'll forget them all.
  5. (transitive, obsolete) To diminish; to lessen or lower.
    • John Locke (1632-1705)
      Upon lessening interest to four per cent, you fall the price of your native commodities.
  6. (transitive, obsolete) To bring forth.
    to fall lambs‎
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)
  7. (intransitive, obsolete) To issue forth into life; to be brought forth; said of the young of certain animals.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)
  8. To descend in character or reputation; to become degraded; to sink into vice, error, or sin.
    • Bible, Hebrews iv.11:
      Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
  9. To become ensnared or entrapped; to be worse off than before.
    to fall into error;  to fall into difficulties‎
  10. To assume a look of shame or disappointment; to become or appear dejected; said of the face.
    • Bible, Genesis iv.5:
      Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
    • Joseph Addison (1672–1719)
      I have observed of late thy looks are fallen.
  11. To happen; to come to pass; to chance or light (upon).
    • Jonathan Swift (1667–1745)
      The Romans fell on this model by chance.
    • Bible, Ruth iii.18:
      Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall.
    • Herbert Spenser (1820-1903)
      Primitive men […] do not make laws, they fall into customs.
  12. To begin with haste, ardour, or vehemence; to rush or hurry.
    After arguing, they fell to blows.‎
  13. To be dropped or uttered carelessly.
    An unguarded expression fell from his lips.‎

Quotations

Synonyms

Antonyms

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Related terms

Translations

See also

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: copy · opened · purpose · #544: fall · pass · doing · note

Albanian

Etymology

From Arabic

Noun

fall

  1. prophecy

Breton

Adjective

fall

  1. bad

Faroese

Etymology

From Old Norse fall, from falla ‎(“to fall”). The grammatical sense is a calque of Latin casus.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /fatl/

Noun

fall n (genitive singular fals, plural føll)

  1. fall, drop
  2. case (linguistics)

Declension

n10 Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative fall fallið føll føllini
Accusative fall fallið føll føllini
Dative falli fallinum føllum føllunum
Genitive fals falsins falla fallanna

German

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /fal/
  • Rhymes: -al

Verb

fall

  1. Imperative singular of fallen.
  2. (colloquial) First-person singular present of fallen.

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse fall, from falla ‎(“to fall”). The grammatical sense is a calque of Latin casus.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /fatl/
  • Rhymes: -atl

Noun

fall n ‎(genitive singular falls, nominative plural föll)

  1. fall, drop
  2. (grammar) case
  3. (computing, programming) function; (subprogram, usually with formal parameters, returing a data value when called)
  4. indefinite accusative singular of fall

Declension

Derived terms

Synonyms

  • (function): fallstefja

See also

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

fall n ‎(definite singular fallet, indefinite plural fall, definite plural falla or fallene)

  1. a fall
  2. case
    i fall - in case
    i alle fall - in any case

Related terms

Derived terms

Verb

fall

  1. imperative of falle

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

fall n ‎(definite singular fallet, indefinite plural fall, definite plural falla)

  1. a fall
  2. case

Derived terms

References

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse fall, from falla ‎(“to fall”). The grammatical sense is a calque of Latin casus.

Pronunciation

Noun

fall n

  1. a fall (the act of falling)
  2. a fall, loss of greatness or wealth, a bankruptcy
  3. a slope, a waterfall, the height of a slope or waterfall
    fallet är omgivet av skog
    the fall is surrounded by forest
    fallet är sjutton meter
    the water falls seventeen metres; the decline is seventeen metres
  4. a (legal) case
    i alla fall
    anyhow (in all cases)
    i annat fall
    otherwise (in another case)
    i så fall
    if so (in such a case)
    i vilket fall som helst
    in any case
    i vart fall
    in any case

Declension

Inflection of fall 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative fall fallet fall fallen
Genitive falls fallets falls fallens

Related terms

  • fallfrukt
  • fallfärdig
  • fallgirig
  • fallgrop
  • fallhöjd
  • fallinje
  • fallrep
  • fallseger
  • fallskärm
  • fallstudie
  • fallucka
  • fallvind
  • framfall
  • fälla
  • förfall
  • infall
  • kriminalfall
  • kursfall
  • mordfall
  • nedfall
  • nödfall
  • olycksfall
  • prisfall
  • psykfall

Verb

fall

  1. imperative of falla.

References

Etymology

From Middle English fallen, from Old English feallan ‎(“to fall, fail, decay, die, attack”), from Proto-Germanic *fallaną ‎(“to fall”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pōl-. Cognate with West Frisian falle ‎(“to fall”), Low German fallen ‎(“to fall”), Dutch vallen ‎(“to fall”), German fallen ‎(“to fall”), Icelandic falla ‎(“to fall”), Albanian fal ‎(“forgive, pray, salute, greet”), Lithuanian pùlti ‎(“to attack, rush”), Ancient Greek σφάλλω ‎(sphállō, “bring down, destroy, cause to stumble, deceive”).

Sense of "autumn" is by 1660s England, short for Middle English fall of the leaf (1540s), from the falling of leaves during this season.

Pronunciation

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