fell
fell1 / fel/ • past of fall.fell2 • v. [tr.] (usu. be felled) cut down (a tree). ∎ knock down: strong winds felled power lines fig. corruption that felled the financial system in Thailand. • n. an amount of timber cut.fell3 • n. a hill or stretch of high moorland, esp. in northern England. an area of fell and moor. fell4 • adj. poetic/lit. of terrible evil or ferocity; deadly: sorcerers use spells to achieve their fell ends.PHRASES: in one fell swoop all at one time: nothing can topple the government in one fell swoop. fell5 • n. archaic an animal's hide or skin with its hair.
fell
fell An area of open mountainside with low-lying vegetation. The word is derived from the Old Norse fiall, meaning ‘hill’, and survives in a number of place names in northern England, probably as a result of Viking settlement.
fell
fell An area of open mountainside with low-lying vegetation. The word is derived from the Old Norse fiall, meaning ‘hill’, and survives in a number of place names in northern England, probably as a result of Viking settlement.
fell
fell4 strike down. OE. (Anglian) fellan, (WS.) fyllan, *fiellan = OS. fellian (Du. vellen), OHG. fellen (G. fällen), ON. fella :- Gmc. *falljan, causative of *fallan FALL2.
fell
fell1 skin, hide. OE. fel(l) = OS., OHG. fel (Du. vel, G. fell), ON. berfjall bearskin, Goth. þrūtsfill ‘swelling-skin’, leprosy (= OE. þrūstfell) :- Gmc. *fellam :- IE. *pello-, the base being repr. also by L. pellis skin.
fell
fell2 hill; wild stretch of land. XIII. — ON. fjall and fell hill, mountain, presumably rel. to OS. felis, OHG. felis(a) (G. fels) rock, Skr. pā⋅yá- stone, (O)Ir. all rock (IE. *pels-).
fell
fell3 (arch.) fierce, cruel, dire. XIII. — OF. fel :- Rom. *fellō; cf. FELON.
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fell