▪ I. fell, n.1
(fɛl)
Forms: 1 fel(l, 2–7 fel, 3–6 felle, 2– fell. Also 3–4 vel, velle.
[Com. Teut.: OE. fel, fell str. neut., OFris. fel, OS. fel (Du. vel), OHG. fel (MHG. vel, mod.Ger. fell), ON. (ber-) fiall, Goth. (þruts-) fill n.:—OTeut. *fello(m:—pre-Teut. *pello-:—*pelno-, cognate with Gr. πέλλα, Lat. pellis skin; a derivative from the same root is film.]
1. The skin or hide of an animal: a. with the hair, wool, etc.
| Beowulf 2088 (Gr.) Sio wæs orþoncum eall ᵹeᵹyrwed..dracan fellum. c 1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 334 Nim mereswines fel. a 1175 Cott. Hom. 225 God ham ȝeworhta þa reaf of fellan and hi were mid þan fellen ȝescridde. c 1220 Bestiary 135 For his fel he [neddre] ðer leteð. 1340 Ayenb. 210 Zuych difference ase þer is be-tuene..þe uelle and þe beste. 1399 Langl. Rich. Redeles iii. 24 The herte..ffedith him on þe venym, his ffelle to anewe. a 1400–50 Alexander 5083 Sum fellis of fischis. c 1483 Caxton Vocab. 9 b, Of shepes fellis. 1551 Robinson tr. More's Utop. (Arb.) 98 They carie furth..purple died felles. 1612 Drayton Poly-olb. vii. 104 Her Wooll whose Staple doth excell..the golden Phrygian Fell. 1757 Dyer Fleece (1807) 68 In loose locks of fells she most delights. 1831 Carlyle Sart. Res. i. viii. 37 The Horse I ride has his own whole fell. 1870 Morris Earthly Par. III. iv. 6 A lion's skin..So wrought with gold that the fell showed but dim Betwixt the threads. |
† b. as distinguished from the hair, etc.
Obs.| a 1225 Ancr. R. 418 Uelles wel i-tauwed. 1436 Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 168 Of Scotlonde the commoditees Ar ffelles, hydes, and of wolle the ffleesse. 1581 W. Stafford Exam. Compl. ii. (1876) 51 Of our felles they make Spanish skins, Gloues, and Girdels. 1615 T. Adams Lycanthropy 20 His fell good, his fleece good, his flesh good. 1719 D'Urfey Pills V. 294 Wool, New pull d from tanned Fells. |
c. Proverbs.
| 1548 Hall Chron. (1809) 106 The old Proverbe..which saieth ‘If Shepe ronne wilfully emongest Wolves they shall lese ether Life or Fell.’ 1579 Gosson Sch. Abuse (Arb.) 20 The woolf iettes in weathers felles. |
2. Said of the human skin, rarely of the skin covering an organ of the body. Often in
phr. flesh and fell: see
flesh. Now only as
transf. from 1.
| c 1000 Juliana 591 (Gr.) Næs..ne feax ne fel fyre ᵹemæled. c 1200 Ormin 8591, I fell & flæsh wiþþuten dæþ. a 1300 Sarmun vi. in E.E.P. (1862) 2 Þi velle þat is wiþ-oute. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VI. 247 An evel þat was bytwene vel and flesche. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 6076 In synnes, in Ioyntes, in fell, and flessh. 1561 Hollybush Hom. Apoth. 19 b, The celles or felles that enuiron the harte. 1606 Holland Sueton. 239 That kind of dropsy wherein water runneth between the fell and the flesh. 1831 Carlyle Sart. Res. (1858) 23 The rest of his body sheeted in its thick natural fell. 1890 H. M. Stanley in Times 6 May, A light brown fell stood out very clearly. |
| fig. a 1225 Ancr. R. 120 Nis þer, þeonne, bute vorworpen sone þet ruwe vel abute þe heorte. |
† b. ‘The flesh immediately under the skin’ (Burns
Gloss.).
Obs.| 1559 Mirr. Mag., Dk. Gloucester xiii, She haply with her nayles may claw hym to the fell. 1567 Turberv. Epitaphes, etc. 108 b, Augmenting still his secret sore by piercing fell and skin. 1786 Burns Ordination xii. 5 See, how she peels the skin an' fell As ane were peelin onions! |
3. A covering of hair, wool, etc.,
esp. when thick and matted; a fleece. Often in
phr. a fell of hair, a head or shock of hair.
| 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. iii. ii. 55 We are still handling our Ewes and their Fels you know are greasie. 1605 ― Macb. v. v. 11 My Fell of haire Would at a dismall Treatise rowze, and stirre As life were in't. c 1640 J. Smyth Lives Berkeleys (1883) I. 162 A Sheepskyn accordinge to the growth of the fell. 1842 N. A. Woods Tour Canada 14 Their flat Tartar features half hidden under a fell of coarse, unkempt hair. 1844 Lowell Columbus, The surly fell of Ocean's bristled neck! 1872 Lowell Dante Prose Wks. 1800 IV. 204 note, Reason (Virgil) first carries him down by clinging to the fell of Satan. |
4. attrib. and
Comb., as
fell-rot (
Sc.),
fell-ware,
fell-wound. Also
fell-ill Sc. (see
quot.);
fell-poake Sc., waste clippings or parings resulting from the preparation of skins (used for manure);
fell-wool (see
quot. 1888), and fell-monger.
| 1798 R. Douglas Agric. Roxb. 149 Aged cattle..are liable to be hide bound, a disease known here..by the name of the *fell-ill. |
| a 1803 J. Gretton in A. Hunter's Georg. Ess. (1803) III. 139 Get your *fell-poake on your head-land by the latter end of October. |
| 1799 Ess. Highland Soc. III. 465 Many different kinds of rot..as the..*fell-rot, the bone-rot and other rots. |
| 1399 Langl. Rich. Redeles iii. 150 Ffurris of ffoyne and oþer *ffelle-ware. |
| 1552 Act 5–6 Edw. VI, c. 6 §1 Mingling *Fell-wool and Lambs-wool..with Fleece-wool. 1677 Plot Oxfordsh. 278 This Fell wool they separate into five or six sorts. 1888 Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk., Fell-wool, the wool pulled from sheep-skins in distinction from the fleece wool shorn from the living animal. |
| 1382 Wyclif Lev. xiii. 19 In the place of the bocche aperith a *fel wounde [Lat. cicatrix]. 1382 ― Jer. xxx. 17 Y schal helen parfitly thi felle wounde to thee. |
▪ II. fell, n.2 (
fɛl)
Also 4–5
felle, 4–7
fel.
[a. ON. fiall (Sw. fiäll, Da. (fjeld) mountain, perh.:—OTeut. *felzo(m, related by ablaut to *faliso-, OHG. felis, mod.G. fels rock.] 1. A hill, mountain.
Obs. exc. in proper names of hills in the north-west of England, as Bowfell, Scawfell, etc.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 6461 (Cott.) Moyses went vp-on þat fell, and fourti dais can þer-on duell. Ibid. 22534 (Cott.) Þe dals up-rise, þe fells dun fall. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xiv. 64 Thurgh þe straytes of mountaynes and felles. c 1470 Harding Chron. ciii. vii, His graue is yet..vpon the fell. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. III. 435 With clarions..Quhomeof the sound did found attouir the fell. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. i. 755 High topped hilles and huge fels standing thicke together. |
2. a. A wild, elevated stretch of waste or pasture land; a moorland ridge, down. Now chiefly in the north of England and parts of Scotland. Formerly often in
phr. frith (firth) and fell: see
frith.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 7697 (Cott.) In frith and fell, Saul soght dauid for to quell. c 1420 Anturs of Arth. iv, Thay questun, thay quellun By frythun, by fellun. 1486 Bk. St. Albans E j a, Wheresoeuer ye fare by fryth or by fell. 1549 Compl. Scot. vi. 66 The laif of ther fat flokkis follouit on the fellis. 1562 Turner Herbal ii. 57 a, Feniculum..groweth in..wild mores, called felles. 1612 Drayton Poly-olb. xvii, The Syluans that..did dwell, Both in the tufty Frith, and in the mossy Fell. 1769 Gray Lett. Wks. 1836 IV. 145 Greystock town and castle..lie only 3 miles (over the Fells) from Ulzwater. 1867 J. Ingelow Gladys 169 With fell and precipice, It ran down steeply to the water's brink. 1872 Jenkinson Guide Eng. Lakes (1879) 121 The fell is ascended by the side of a ravine. 1880 R. Broughton Sec. Th. iii. i, Fells and becks, whose cool memory has often come back..to her. |
¶ b. In 16–17th c. understood to mean: A marsh, fen.
| 1514 Fitzherb. Just. Peas (1538) 115 Lowe grounds for medowes, felles, fennes. 1583 Stanyhurst æneis i. (Arb.) 23 Throgh fels and trenches thee chase thee coompanye tracked. 1611 Speed Theat. Gt. Brit. Pref., Her Fels and Fens so replenished with wilde foule. 1612 Drayton Poly-olb. iii. 42 Ye..be grac't With floods or marshie fels. |
c. Sc. ‘A field pretty level on the side or top of a hill’ (Burns
Glossary in
Poems 1787).
| 1794 Burns Now Westlin Winds ii, The partridge loves the fruitful fells; The plover loves the mountains. |
3. attrib., as in
fell-berry,
fell-farm,
fell-foot,
fell-gate,
fell-head,
fell-land (hence
fell-lander),
fell-mouse,
fell-mutton,
fell-range,
fell-ridge,
fell-sheep,
fell-side,
fell-top,
fell-walker,
fell-walking;
fell-bloom, the flower of Bird's-foot Trefoil,
Lotus corniculatus (
Jam.);
fell-field (see
quot. 1916);
fell hound, a variety of foxhound bred for hunting in hill-country;
fell-thrush, the missel-thrush.
| 1884 Pall Mall G. 16 July 4/2 We make wonderfully good *fell-berry puddings. |
| 1908 W. G. Collingwood Scand. Brit. ii. ii. 180 In Cumberland..on *fell farms. 1951 M. Lloyd (title) Fell Farm Holiday. |
| 1916 B. D. Jackson Gloss. Bot. Terms (ed. 3) 144 *Fell-fields, districts of dwarf, scattered plants, chiefly Cryptogams. 1959 A. McLintock Descr. Atlas N.Z. 28 Subalpine scrub and fellfield in more elevated situations. |
| 1761 in Wesley's Jrnl. 18 Apr. (1827) III. 49 ‘Take the galloway, and guide them to the *Fell foot’. |
| 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., *Fell-head, the top of a mountain not distinguished by a peak. |
| 1920 R. Clapham Foxhunting on Lakeland Fells iii. 51 A *fell hound should stand under, rather than over, 22½ inches. 1948 C. E. Lloyd in B. Vesey-Fitzgerald Bk. Dog ii. 452 The Royal Fell Hound Show has done a lot not only to improve the breed but also to promote interest and goodwill. |
| 1890 Westmoreland Gaz. 8 Nov. 4/3, 2,640 Acres of *Fell Land. |
| 1774 T. West Antiq. Furness p. xlv, The *fellanders of Furness. |
| 1874 G. W. Dasent Tales fr. Fjeld 332 There was no end to the *fell-mouse's greediness. |
| 1769 Gray Lett. Wks. 1836 IV. 158 *Fell-mutton is now in season. |
| 1863 Spring Lapl. 55 The great dividing *fell-range between Norway and Sweden. |
| 1886 Pall Mall G. 6 Aug. 5/2 The ptarmigan..soaring over the *fell-ridge with a low chuckle. |
| Ibid. 9 Aug. 4/1 The *fell sheep suffered severely. |
| 1862 T. Shorter in Weldon's Register Aug. 24 His early *fell-side neighbours. 1872 Jenkinson Guide Eng. Lakes (1879) 322 A point on the fellside is reached where are two paths. |
| 1879 Cumbrld. Gloss. Suppl., *Fell thrush. |
| 1886 Pall Mall G. 6 Aug. 5/2 That *fell top appeared to be uninhabited by any more [ptarmigan]. |
| 1957 Clark & Pyatt Mountaineering in Brit. i. 24 Jackson..was a persistent *fell-walker and scrambler. |
| 1956 C. Evans On Climbing i. 13 It is as common to start by being taken up a climb as by *fell-walking. |
▸
fell runner n. Brit. a partcipant in fell running.
| 1929 Times 4 Feb. 10/2 The crowd..pours into the dale in August to see the *fell runners and wrestlers at the Grasmere sports. 2006 Daily Post (Liverpool) (Nexis) 24 Mar. Tomorrow fell-runners will be heading for..the 10-mile Ras yr Aran, which involves 2,500 feet of ascent. |
▸
fell running n. Brit. the sport or activity of running over fells or hilly terrain,
esp. in north-west England.
| 1920 F. Muirhead England 415 Grasmere Sports..are the chief athletic festival in the Lake District, with the best wrestling (Cumberland-Westmorland style), *fell-running, and hound-trailing. 2001 Techn. Guide (YHA Adventure Shops) Summer 73/2 Versatile, stable & comfortable daysack designed for fell running, cycling & cross country skiing. |
▪ III. † fell, n.3 Obs. rare—1.
[a. L. fell-, fel gall.] Gall, bitterness; hence, animosity, rancour.
| 1590 Spenser F.Q. iii. xi. 2 Untroubled of vile feare or bitter fell. |
▪ IV. fell, n.4 (
fɛl)
[f. fell v.; in some senses perh. repr. OE. fięll: see fall n.] 1. The action of the
vb. fell in various senses.
a. A knockdown blow.
| 1877 Holderness Gloss. s.v., ‘If thoo disn't 'mind ah sal be givin tha a fell inoo.’ |
b. A cutting down of timber;
concr. the timber cut down at one season;
= fall n.1 14.
| 165. Cromwell in Carlyle Lett. & Sp. (1871) I. 280 Ordinary fells. 1663 Pepys Diary 11 Dec., When a fell is made, they leave here and there a grown tree. 1727 Bradley Fam. Dict. s.v. Coppice, Leave young Trees enough, you may take down the worst at the next Fell. 1767 A. Young Farmer's Lett. People 156 A small fell will amount to..thirty pounds. 1888 Rider Haggard Col. Quaritch I. x, The trees were gone.. ‘Cut down this spring fell’. |
c. The sewing down (a fold, etc.) level with the cloth (see
fell v. 6);
concr. a ‘felled’ seam.
| 1874 Knight Dict. Mech., Fell..a form of hem in which one edge is folded over the other and sewed down; or in which one edge is left projecting and is sewed down over the previous seam. 1885 Brietzcke & Rooper Plain Needlewk. 29 The fell..means, hemming neatly the turned down edge on to the material itself. 1885 Mrs. Croly Man. Needlework 9 Hem, fell, gather and buttonhole. |
d. A ‘fall’ of lambs.
Obs. exc. dial.| 1625 B. Jonson Pan's Anniversary, So shall the first of all our fells be thine. 1823 in Moor Suffolk Words. |
2. ‘The line of termination of a web in the process of weaving, formed by the last weft-thread driven up by the lay; the line to which the warp is at any instant wefted’ (Ogilvie).
| 1874 in Knight Dict. Mech. s.v. 1882 in Caulfeild Dict. Needlewk. s.v. Felling. |
3. Comb., as
fell wood, timber ready to be felled; fellable wood.
| 1736 Neal Hist. Purit. III. 21 The Londoners were distressed..for coals, which obliged them to have recourse to the..cutting down all fell wood on the estates of Delinquents. |
▪ V. fell, n.5 Mining.
(
fɛl)
a. Lead ore in its rough state.
Cf. bouse n.2 b. Lead ore siftings.
| 1653 E. Manlove Lead-mines 266 Fell, Bous and Knock⁓barke. 1851 [see bouse n.2]. 1874 Knight Dict. Mech., Fell..the finer portions of lead ore which fall through the meshes of the sieve when the ore is sorted by sifting. |
▪ VI. fell, a. and adv. (
fɛl)
Forms: 3–5
felle, 3–6
fel(e, 3–
fell.
[a. OF. fel = Pr. fel, It. fello fierce, cruel, savage:—popular Lat. fellō, nom. of fellōn-em n.: see felon.] A. adj. 1. Of animals and men, their actions and attributes: Fierce, savage; cruel, ruthless; dreadful, terrible. Also in
cruel and fell,
fierce and fell. Now only
poet. or
rhetorical.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 3974 (Cott.) Esau..was fel and wald noght spare. Ibid. 20935 (Cott.) [P]Aul..bicome..schep o wolf, and mek of fell. 1340 Ayenb. 61 Þe felliste best þet me clepeþ hyane. c 1350 Will. Palerne 3614 Þo bi-gan þat batayle..Feller saw neuer frek from Adam to þis time. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xi. 44 Herode was a full wikkid man and a fell. c 1450 Gesta Rom. xxxi. 115 (Add. MS.) By a felle lyon thou shalt lose thi lyf. c 1470 Henry Wallace i. 109 Quhen fechtyng was fellast. 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour x. 14 Alle proude hertys that be felle. 1553 Brende Q. Curtius S vij, He beheld them with a fell countenaunce and rose up to have stricken at them. 1622 Dekker Virg. Martir i. Wks. 1873 IV. 10 My fell hate. 1634 Milton Comus 257 Fell Charybdis murmured soft applause. 1653 H. Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. xxii. 78 Such fell and cruel people, as the Chineses were. 1688 R. Holme Armoury ii. 184/2 The..Ban-dog..is fierce, is fell, is stout, is strong. 1748 Richardson Clarissa (1811) II. xxxiii. 238, ‘I will risque all consequences’ said the fell wretch. 1812 Byron Ch. Har. i. xv, And earth from fellest foemen purge. 1813 Scott Rokeby iv. xxvi, His fell design. 1847 Emerson Poems, Dæmonic Love Wks. (Bohn) I. 465 Even the fell Furies are appeased. 1864 Burton Scot Abr. I. iii. 118 With all the fell ferocity of men falling on their bitterest feudal enemy. 1877 C. Geikie Christ xxiii. (1879) 255 The soul..drawn down to earth by a fell necessity. |
2. Of things,
esp. of natural agents, weapons, disease, suffering, etc.: Keen, piercing, intensely painful or destructive. Of poison: Deadly. Still
dial. in colloquial use; in literature only
poet. and
rhetorical: Dire, appallingly cruel or destructive.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 421 [The Ark] Flote forthe with the flyt of þe felle wyndez. Ibid. B. 954 Felle flaunkes of fyr. a 1330 Otuel 59 Oliuer..bar a spere kene & fel. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xvi. 31 Þe flesshe is a fel wynde. c 1440 York Myst. xiv. 72 Þe fellest freese þat euer I felyd. c 1440 Bone Flor. 1973 Hys sekeness was so felle. c 1475 Rauf Coilȝear 74 The wedderis ar sa fell, that fallis on the feild. 1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 66 Like as the Zones..the middest of them all men eschew, the burning is so fell. 1567 Turberv. Epitaphes, etc. (1837) 386 Small arrowis, cruel heads, that fel and forked be. 1663 Butler Hud. i. ii. 803 To guard its Leader from fell bane. 1729 T. Cooke Tales, Proposals, etc. 139 With the fellest Venom swells his Veins. 1742 Gray To Adversity v, Despair, and fell Disease, and ghastly Poverty. 1757 Smollett Reprisal Epil., Such fell seas of trouble. 1787 Burns Winter Night i, Biting Boreas, fell and doure. 1831 Carlyle Misc. (1857) II. 309 Common ashes are solemnly labelled as fell poison. 1867 G. Macdonald Poems 194 Hunger fell is joined with frost. |
b. of an incident, portion of time, etc.
| c 1340 Cursor M. 22428 (Fairf.) Þe cruel dais & felle be-for domis-dai þai salle be sene. c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. vii. ii. 53 For drede of fellare chawns Sum of þaim þan fled in Frawns. c 1470 Henry Wallace iv. 110 Bot fell tithings was brocht Persie beforn. 1557 Tottell's Misc., Golden Meane (1870) 256 Of lofty ruing towers the fals the feller be. 1799 Sheridan Pizarro iii. ii, The last and fellest peril of thy life. 1821 J. Baillie Met. Leg., Columb. xlv, The injured Hero's fellest hour. |
c. Sc. With reference to taste: Keen, pungent.
| 1786 Burns Cotter's Saturd. Nt. 96 The dame brings forth..her weel-hain'd kebbuck, fell. |
† 3. Hot, angry, enraged, virulent.
Obs.| 1382 Wyclif Ecclus. xxiii. 22 A fel soule as fyr brennende shal not be quenchid. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 86 Amon was right fel and wrothe. 1558 Bp. Watson Sev. Sacram. xxix. 186 The manne ought not to be bitter and fell agaynste his wyfe in vsing brawlinges. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. ii. i. 20 Oberon is passing fell and wrath. |
4. Full of spirit, sturdy, doughty.
Obs. exc. dial.| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 125 Þe burgeis were fulle felle. c 1400 Destr. Troy 129 A faire man of feturs, & fellist in armys. 1475 Bk. Noblesse 64 To make the Romains more egir and fellir in that bataile. 1522 World & Child in Hazl. Dodsley I. 252 So fell a fighter in a field was there never y-found. 1593 Drayton Eclogues iv. 122 Fell was he and eager bent In Battaile. 1815 Scott Guy M. xxii, A fell chield at the vermin. 1876 Whitby Gloss. s.v., ‘I wasn't i' fell order’, not in able condition. |
b. Const.
for,
on,
† to: In earnest, eager; bent or intent
upon.
Obs. exc. dial.| 1666 Pepys Diary 15 Jan., I am so fell to my business that I..will not go. 1876 Whitby Gloss. s.v., ‘Thoo's mair fell for thy dinner than rife for a race.’ 1888 Rider Haggard Col. Quaritch xxviii, I am rarely fell on seeing them and having a holiday look round Lunnon. |
† 5. Shrewd; clever, cunning.
Obs.| c 1275 Lay. 5302 Mid hire felle [c 1205 præt] wrenches. 1382 Wyclif Prov. xii. 16 Who forsothe dissymulith wrongus is fel. c 1400 Beryn 1853 Evandir was his name, that sottill was and fell. c 1475 Partenay 1237 Till thay wer growyn ryght large, wyse, and fell. 1561 Randolph Let. 7 Dec. in Keith Hist. Ch. & St. Scot. (1734) I. 205 Liddington hath a crafty Head and fell Tongue. 1725 Ramsay Gent. Sheph. iii. ii, The fellest fortune-teller e'er was seen. |
6. In weakened sense: Exceedingly great, huge, mighty.
Obs. exc. Sc.| 1515 Scot. Field 44 There they fell, at the first shotte Many a fell fothir. 1586 J. Ferne Blaz. Gentrie 22 This Harrat hath spent a fell time in bussing like a preacher. 1889 J. M. Barrie Window in Thrums xiv. 131 ‘It had a fell lot o' brass aboot it.’ |
† 7. quasi-n. The
adj. used absol. Obs.| a 1300 Cursor M. 1124 (Cott.), ‘Caym ware es þi broiþer abell?’ ‘I wat neuer,’ said he, þat fell. c 1340 Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1565 Þer þe felle bydez. |
8. Comb., as
fell-like adj. (
dial.)
| 1854 Phemie Millar VII. 179 She did think it was a fell like thing that any one..should be thinking of nonsense. |
B. adv. 1. In a ‘fell’ manner;
† cruelly, fiercely (
obs.); eagerly, vigorously, excessively (
obs. exc. dial.).
| a 1300 Cursor M. 23997 (Cott.) Quen i sagh þaa juus snell, Rise again mi sun sua fell, ful wanles wex i þan. c 1320 Sir Tristr. 97 He..Was wounded in þat fiȝt Ful felle. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 1040 Þat fel fretes þe flesch & festred bones. c 1470 Harding Chron. cxcvii. v, He chastised theim no feller as was sene. 1597 Montgomerie Misc. Poems xxii. 10 ‘Fell peart,’ quod Cupid, ‘thou appeirs.’ 1832–53 Whistle-binkie (Sc. Songs) Ser. iii. 114 Our Sawnies and Maggies..At e'en blythe will dance, yet work fell the neist morn. 1863 Morton Cycl. Agric. (E.D.S.), A plough goes too fell when going deeper than is wished. 1876 Whitby Gloss., He eats his meat varry fell. 1889 J. M. Barrie Window in Thrums xvi. 148 She was ‘complaining fell (considerably) about her back the day’. |
2. Comb. with
ppl. adjs.| 1587 Misfort. Arthur i. ii. in Hazl. Dodsley IV. 268 Cast off this..fell-disposed mind. 1593 Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, v. i. 146 These fell-lurking Curres. 1795 Fate Sedley II. 62 Goaded by the fell pointed spear. 1876 Whitby Gloss. s.v., Fell-bred, of a vicious kind. |
▪ VII. fell, v. (
fɛl)
pa. tense and pa. pple. felled (
fɛld). Forms: 1
fellan,
fyllan,
Northumb. fællan, 2–5
felle(n, (5
fellyn), 4–6
fel, 3–
fell.
[OE. fęllan, fięllan, fyllan = OFris. falla, fella, OS. fellian (Du. vellen), OHG. fellen (MHG. vellen, mod.Ger. fällen), ON. fella (Da. fælde, Sw. fälla):—OTeut. *falljan, causative of *fall-an fall v.] trans. To cause to fall.
1. To cut, knock, or strike down (a man or animal).
† Also, to bring down (with a missile). Often with
down,
to the ground, etc.
| c 1000 Ags. Ps. (Thorpe) cxxxviii. 16 [cxxxix. 19] Ȝif þu syððan wylt þa firenfullan fyllan mid deaðe. a 1325 Prose Psalter cv[i] 26 He feld hem doun in wildernesse. a 1330 Otuel 60 Anwe of Nubie..felde Oliuer to grounde. 1375 Barbour Bruce xii. 524 Mon worthy men..wes fellit in that ficht. a 1400 Cov. Myst. (1841) 65 Opyn in the fielde the fend he shal felle. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon xii. 288, I felde hym doun ded afore me to therthe. c 1500 Lancelot 3299 Sum in the feld fellit is in swon. 1600 Holland Livy xxiii. 490 Most of them were felled and strucken stark dead. 1671 Narborough Jrnl. in Acc. Sev. Late Voy. i. (1694) 168 A great White Bear..which he shot at, and fell'd her down. 1698 Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 41 On the top of a withered Stump sate perching a Chamelion..I caused a Black..to fell him with an Earthen Pellet. 1702 Pope Wife of Bath 416, I, with one buffet fell'd him on the floor. 1843 Lever J. Hinton xxix, Straight between the eyes the weapon struck me, and felled me to the ground. 1852 R. F. Burton Falconry in Vall. of Indus v. 60 If two [hawks] are flown they are certain to fell the game. 1855 Smedley H. Coverdale li, With one blow of this [fist] I believe I could fell an ox. |
| absol. c 1400 Melayne 266 Thay felde faste of oure chevalrye. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. (1858) I. 332 Bot still thai stude durst nother fell nor fle. 1542–5 Brinklow Lament. (1874) 86 When he striketh, he felleth to the grounde. |
† b. to fell along: to lay (a man) at full length.
| 1665 Dryden Indian Emp. ii. ii, I fell'd along a Man of bearded Face. 1668 ― Evening's Love v. i, A huge giant seized my torch, and felled me along. |
† c. To kill.
Obs.| a 1300 Cursor M. 22903 (Cott.) An hungre leon..þis wolf..feld ant ete him al. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. xii. 65, I shal felle þat freke in a fewe dayes! a 1400–50 Alexander 3011 (Dublin MS.) Full fele fleys may nott felle bott a few wasspez. 1681 S. Colvil Whigs Supplic. (1751) 58 They felled all our hens and cocks. |
d. Of a disease, hunger, etc.: To lay low, lay prostrate;
† to kill.
Obs. exc. dial.| c 900 Bæda's Hist. iv. xvii. [xiii.] (1891) 302 Heo mid arleasre cwale fylde wæron. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 177 Þenne hit þat tuderinde wiðleoð and cumeð coðe oðer qualm and michel þerof felleð. a 1605 Montgomerie Flyting w. Polwart 305 The fersie, the falling-euill, that fels many freikes. 1665 Boyle Occas. Refl. ii. iii. (1845) 106 Feavers burn us..Epilepsies fell us, Colicks tear us. 1855 Robinson Whitby Gloss., ‘Felled with his ailment’, prostrate with sickness. |
† e. fig. To cast down, defeat, ruin, humiliate.
Obs. Also
dial. of anything startling: To ‘knock (one) down’.
| c 1000 Ags. Ps. (Thorpe) lxxiii. 22 [lxxiv. 23] Fyll þa ofer hydigan. a 1340 Hampole Psalter cxxii. 1 Ill luf fellis us doun in til the erth. 1535 Coverdale Isa. x. 33 He shal..fel the hie mynded. 1602 Marston Antonio's Rev. iv. i, Starke feld with brusing stroke of chance. 1855 Mrs. Gaskell North & S. xxxvi, ‘I'm welly felled wi' seeing him.’ |
2. To cut down (a tree). Also,
† to fell down.
| a 1000 Riddles ii. 9 (Gr.) Ic..beamas fylle. a 1300 Cursor M. 12395 (Cott.) He him suld sli timber fell. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 1247 He fellez forestez fele. 1520 Caxton's Chron. Eng. ii. 11 b/2 Brute caused to fell downe woddes. 1545 Brinklow Compl. xxiii. (1874) 58 Ye must fell down to the ground those rotten postys, the bisshops. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. ii. (1586) 105 b, The chesnut may bee felde every seventh yeere. 1667 Milton P.L. vi. 575 Oak or Firr With branches lopt in Wood or Mountain fell'd. 1725 De Foe Voy. round World (1840) 340 They found three trees..and they..felled and shaped them. 1869 Lecky Europ. Mor. II. i. 195 Gigantic forests were felled. |
| absol. 1847 Marryat Childr. N. Forest xiii, They went out to fell at a cluster of small spruce fir about a mile off. |
† 3. To break down, overthrow, knock down (a building, construction, or erection of any kind).
| a 1000 Crist 486 (Gr.) Hergas fyllað. Ibid. 709 (Gr.) Þa synsceaðan..godes tempel..fyldon. a 1000 Cross 73 (Gr.) Þa us man fyllan onᵹan ealle to eorðan. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 366/43 Þe prince for wrathþe of his [seint Iacob's] prechingue þe laddre a-doun gan felle. 1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 526 A wynd..So grete yt com, þat yt yelde mony hous adoun. c 1430 Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 4002 Amalek he smote on the crovn That twoo quarters he feld a-doun Of his helme. 1467 Mann. & Househ. Exp. 172 The walls of the salte howses..schal be felled or it be long. 1607 Topsell Serpents (1658) 785 The..web..if one throw or cast dust upon it..will rather be distended and stretched, then either undone, broken, or felled down. |
† b. To knock (fruit or leaves) off a tree.
Obs.| 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xix. 128 That elde felde efte þat frut. c 1400 Rom. Rose 911 Nyghtyngales..The leeves felden as they flyen. |
† 4. To cause to stumble; to trip up; in
quot. fig. Obs.| c 975 Rushw. Gosp. Matt. v. 29 Gif þanne þin eᵹe þæt swiþre fælle þec ahloca hit & awerp from ðe. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. iii. 126 Ȝowre fadre she felled þorw fals biheste. |
† 5. Without the notion of suddenness or violence: To bring or let down, lower, abate.
Obs.| a 1300 Cursor M. 1480 (Cott.) Þan sal þai fel þat fals strijf. Ibid. 3376 (Cott.) Þe mikel luue o rebecca Þan feld þe soru o dame sarra. 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 890 Y shal ȝow telle What shal best þys tempest felle. c 1330 ― Chron. (1810) 48 Þe burgeis of London..said þei suld fond to felle Knoutes pride. c 1400 Test. Love i. (1560) 275 b/1 My blisse and my mirth arn felde. c 1430 Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 2712 His hote loue I shal fell. 14.. How Goode Wif Taught hir Daughter 25 in Hazl. E.P.P. 49 Ne goe thou noght to tauerne thi wurchipe to felle. c 1460 Towneley Myst. (Surtees) 177 To felle alle fowlle defame. c 1620 A. Hume Brit. Tongue (1865) 22 The Circumflex accent both liftes and felles the syllab that it possesseth. |
6. To stitch down (the wider of the two edges left projecting by a seam) so that it lies flat over the other edge and leaves a smooth surface on the under-side of the seam. Also,
to fell a seam.
[Etymological identity with the other senses is not certain; but the general sense ‘cause to fall’ appears applicable.]
| 1758 Franklin Let. Wks. 1887 III. 7 It is to be sewed together, the edges being first felled down. 1842 Barham Ingol. Leg., Aunt Fanny, Each..began working..‘Felling the Seams’, and ‘whipping the Frill’. 1887 Spons' Househ. Managem., Workroom 891 Fell down the turnings, or only overcast them. 1892 Weldon's Ladies' Jrnl. Oct. 73 This opening is turned in once on the wrong side, over which is felled a piece of binding. |
| absol. 1862 M. T. Morrall Needle-making 41 I'm teaching little Mary to gather and to fell. |
Hence
ˈfelling ppl. a.| 1597 Daniel Civ. Wars iii. lxxv, Now wardes a felling blow, now strikes again. |