fell
/fɛl/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.85 in modern English
7
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To stitch down a protruding flap of fabric, as a seam allowance, or pleat.
noun
A cutting-down of timber.
Example Sentences
- "Stand, or I'll fell thee down."
- "Sinclair opened Swansea's account from the spot on 8 minutes after a Ryan Shawcross tackle had felled Wayne Routledge."
- "As southeast Asia's forests were felled, the rhino's habitat shrank and became fragmented."
- "Gahan, horrified, saw the latter's head topple from its body, saw the body stagger and fall to the ground. ... The creature that had felled its companion was dashing madly in the direction of the hill upon which he was hidden, it dodged one of the workers that sought to seize it. … Then it was that Gahan's eyes chanced to return to the figure of the creature the fugitive had felled."
- ""Even in his most temperate moments he is constantly felling people with a hunting-crop.""
- "… could make Ferré the first major fashion label felled by the economic crisis to come out the other end of restructuring."
Etymology
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-West Germanic *fallijan, from Proto-Germanic *fallijaną (“to fell, to cause to fall”), causative of Proto-Germanic *fallaną (“to fall”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂peh₃lH-. Cognate with Dutch vellen (“to fell, cut down”), German fällen (“to fell”), Danish fælde (“to fell”), Norwegian felle (“to fell”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: fellen, fellan, *fallijan, *fallijaną, *fallaną, *h₃elh₁-
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /fɛl/
- British English: /fɛl/
Usage
Inflected Forms
fells (present, singular)
felling (participle, present)
felled (participle, past)
felled (past)
fells (plural)
feller (comparative)
fellest (superlative)
more fell (comparative)
most fell (superlative)