| 释义 |
▪ I. fall, n.1|fɔːl|
Forms: 3 fael, 3 south. væl, val, 3–7 fal, 4–7 falle, 6 faule, fawle, foll, 8–9 Sc. fa', faw, 3– fall.
[f. fall v.: cf. OFris. fal, fel masc., OS., OHG. fal, ON. fall neut. The synonymous OE. fięll, fyll (:—*falli-z), f. same root, did not survive into ME., unless it be represented by the forms fæl, væl in Layamon.]
An act or instance of falling.
I. A falling from a height.
1. a. A dropping down from a high or relatively high position, by the force of gravity. to ride for a fall: see ride v. 1 d.
c1200Ormin 11862 Full hefiȝ fall to fallenn. a1225Leg. Kath. 2322 Nis nawt grislich sihðe to seon fallen þæt þing þæt schal arisen, þurh þæt fal, a þusentfalt te fehere. 1393Gower Conf. I. 15 Betwene two stooles is the fall. 1553T. Wilson Rhet. (1580) 154 An other pitiyng his fall, asked him..how got you into that pitte? 1563Fulke Meteors 8 By the fall of them [the starres], both thunder and lightning are caused. 1599Shakes. Pass. Pilgr. 136 A green plum that..falls..before the fall should be. 1667Milton P.L. i. 76 The companions of his fall..He soon discerns. 1748F. Smith Voy. Disc. N.-W. Pass. I. 151 One of them, by a Fall from the Parapet at the Top of the Factory, was killed. 1850Tennyson In Mem. xi. 14 These leaves that redden to the fall. 1851Greenwell Coal-trade Terms Northumb. & Durh. 25 Fall, a dropping down of the roof stone. 1860Tyndall Glac. i. xi. 84 Fixing my feet suddenly in the snow, [I] endeavoured to check his fall. 1863Kingsley Water-bab. 297 That was all in his day's work like a fair fall with the hounds.
b. fig.; esp. a descent from high estate or from moral elevation.
c1230Hali Meid. 15 Se herre degre se þe fal is wurse. c1430Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 53 Min hert so high set haue I, A fall I drede to haue therby! 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 6 b, Whom they moost auaunce..they..gyue them the greater fall. 1679Burnet Hist. Ref. an. 1543 I. iii. 326 Doctor London..did now, upon Cromwell's fall, apply himself to Gardiner. 1780Harris Philol. Enq. Wks. (1841) 454 The fall of these two empires. 1827Hallam Const. Hist. (1876) III. xvii. 333 The fall of the Stuarts. 1874Green Short Hist. viii. 582 Puritanism..drew..a nobler life from its very fall.
c. concr. That which falls; also pl.
1742Young Nt. Th. ix. 63 Nor shall the present year..spread of feeble life a thinner fall. 1844Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. V. i. 268 The short and broken [straw]..goes away in what is technically termed ‘falls’ or pulls. 1890Pall Mall G. 11 Mar. 4/2 To clear away a ‘fall’, some of the blocks of coal in which were as large as trucks.
d. A descent of rain, hail, snow, meteors, etc.; the quantity that falls at one time or in a certain period. Cf. rainfall.
1593Shakes. Lucr. 551 Some gentle gust..Hindering their [vapours'] present fall by this dividing. 1634Sir T. Herbert Trav. (1638) 128 Raine in..violent irruptions: dangerous..in the fall. 1749F. Smith Voy. Disc. N.-W. Pass. II. 20 A very great Fall of Hail, Snow, and Sleet. 1814D. H. O'Brien Captiv. & Escape 178 The flood was very rapid from the late falls of rain. 1833Penny Cycl. I. 151/1 Aërolites, when taken up soon after their fall, are extremely hot. 1858Longfellow Children iii, The wind of Autumn, And the first fall of the snow. 1871Lockyer Astron. iii. §316. 139 Among the largest aërolitic falls of modern times we may mention the following.
concr.1878Huxley Physiogr. 63 A fall of snow thus acts like a mantle of fur thrown over the earth.
e. The coming down, approach, first part (of night, twilight, winter). rare. Cf. nightfall.
1655Earl of Orrery Parthen. (1676) 674 Fifteen thousand Horse and Foot were sent..about fall of the Night. 1661Lovell Hist. Anim. & Min. 229 They are best..at the fall and dead of Winter. 1816Keats Poems, To my Brothers, The love so voluble and deep, That aye at fall of night our care condoles. 1823Byron Juan vii. lvi, Towards the twilight's fall.
† f. Shedding, effusion (of blood). Obs.
1599Shakes. Hen. V, i. ii. 25 Neuer two such Kingdomes did contend, Without much fall of blood.
†g. The dropping out (of teeth). Obs.
1520Calisto & Melib. in Hazl. Dodsley I. 78 Hollowness of mouth, fall of teeth, faint of going.
†h. The downward stroke (of a sword. etc.).
1594Shakes. Rich. III, v. iii. 111 Put in their hands thy bruising irons of wrath, That they may crush down with a heavy fall The usurping helmets of our adversaries. 1604― Oth. ii. iii. 324, I heard the clink and fall of swords.
2. (In early use also more fully fall of the leaf.) That part of the year when leaves fall from the trees; autumn. In N. Amer. the ordinary name for autumn; in England now rare in literary use, though found in some dialects; spring and fall, the fall of the year, are, however, in fairly common use.
1545R. Ascham Toxoph. i. (Arb.) 48 Spring tyme, Somer, faule of the leafe, and winter. 1599Raleigh Reply to Marlowe Poems (Aldine ed.) 11 A honey tongue, a heart of gall Is fancies spring, but sorrows fall. a1631Capt. Smith Eng. Improvement Revived iii. (1673) 59 The best time to..remove younger trees is at..the fall of the leaf. 1664Evelyn Sylva (1679) 15 His..leaves..becoming yellow at the fall, do commonly clothe it all the winter. 1697H. Kelsey Papers (1929) 95 Thos. Bullears boy..died of y⊇ rivers mouth last fall. 1714Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) VI. 726 In the spring and fall he was alwaies disturbed. 1752J. Edwards Wks. (1834) I. p. cxcv/1, I thank you for your letter..which I received this fall. 1767Quebec Gaz. 5 Jan. 3/1 A few barrels of pickeled cod fish, taken..last Fall. 1826Scott Mal. Malagr. i. 10 She has been bled and purged, spring and fall. 1846J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) II. 379 The winter pruning should be performed..at the fall of the leaf. 1849J. E. Alexander L'Acadie II. i. 10 A week at Loughborough in the ‘fall’ is delightful. 1851Carlyle Sterling i. xi. (1872) 67 His first child..was born there..in the fall of that year 1831. 1862Merivale Rom. Emp. (1865) VI. xlvii. 38 It was in the fall of the year..that Agrippa sailed for the East. 1864Lowell Biglow P. Poet. Wks. (1879) 255 Frosts have been unusually backward this fall. 1922C. E. Montague Disenchantment ix. 132 The fall of the leaf had brought, too, a sad shortage of heroes. 1936D. McCowan Anim. Canad. Rockies xi. 99 In the Rockies they stay out until quite late in the fall.
fig.1727Philip Quarll (1816) 82 In the fall of life how sweet's repose.
3. a. The manner in which anything falls. b. Cards. The manner in which the cards are dealt.
1535Coverdale Prov. xvi. 33 The lottes are cast in to the lappe, but their fall stondeth in the Lorde. 1885Proctor Whist iv. 60 The fall of the cards in the first suit may..lead him to do so.
4. Birth or production by dropping from the parent; the quantity born or produced.
1796Hull Advertiser 14 May 1/4 The largest fall of lambs this year almost ever known. 1831Howitt Seasons 72 The principal fall of lambs takes place now. 1865J. G. Bertram Harvest of Sea (1873) 236 The greatest fall of spawn ever known in England occurred forty-six years ago.
II. A sinking to a lower level.
5. a. A sinking down, subsidence (esp. of waves and the like); the ebb (of the tide). Also, the setting (of the sun, stars, etc.), arch.; † the alighting (of a bird). † to be at fall: to be in a low condition.
1571Hanmer Chron. Irel. (1633) 128 The sunne..holdeth his course to his fall. 1586A. Day Eng. Secretary i. (1625) 24 What rising, and deepest falls of waves..doth he there relate. 1598Chapman Iliad ii. 396 In their falls [fowl] lay out such throats, that [etc.]. 1607Shakes. Timon ii. ii. 214 Now they are at fall, want Treature. 1830Lyell Princ. Geol. I. 264 The perpendicular rise and fall of the spring⁓tides. 1868–70Morris Earthly Par. (1890) 168/2 The wide sun reddened towards his fall.
fig.1672Temple Ess. Govt. Wks. 1731 I. 104 Modes of Government have all their Heights and their Falls.
b. Astrol. (See quot.)
1676Lilly Anima Astrologiæ 10 When a Planet is joyned to another in his Declension or Fall; that is, in Opposition to its own House or Exaltation. 1819in J. Wilson Dict. Astrol. 99. 1835 in ‘Zadkiel’ Lilly's Introd. Astrol. 337.
c. fig. Decline, decay.
c1645Howell Lett. I. ii. xv. 23 Amsterdam..rose upon the fall of this Town [Antwerp]. 1682Otway Venice Preserved iv. i, Remember him that prop'd the fall of Venice. 1864Glasgow Herald 12 Nov., A country that was in the utmost state of fall and degradation.
d. The decline or closing part (of a day, year, life). Also rarely, fall of day = the west.
1628Venner Baths of Bathe 7 The declining or Fall of the year. 1712Blackmore Creation 98 Th' adventurous merchant thus pursues his way Or to the rise or to the fall of day. 1800–24Campbell Poems, Caroline ii. To Evening Star v, Sacred to the fall of day, Queen of propitious stars. 1882Besant Revolt of Man i. (1883) 8 The older pictures were mostly the heads of men, taken in the fall of life.
6. The discharge or disemboguement of a river; † the place where this occurs, the mouth.
1577–87Harrison Descr. Brit. xii. in Holinshed 53 The greatest rivers, into whose mouthes or falles shippes might find safe entrance. 1705Addison Italy 113 The Po..before its Fall into the Gulf..receives..the most considerable Rivers of Piemont.
7. a. The falling of a stream of water down a declivity; hence, a cascade, cataract, waterfall. Frequent in pl., as in Falls of the Clyde, Niagara, etc.
1579Spenser Sheph. Cal. Apr. 36 His laye..he made..And tuned it vnto the Waters fall. 1632Lithgow Trav. vii. 318 The fall and roaring of Nyle. 1674N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. 185 The shallow waters that drill between the pebbles in the Falls of Guiny or Africa. 1726G. Shelvocke Voy. round World (1757) 265 The fall of waters, which one hears all around. 1756–7tr. Keysler's Trav. (1760) I. 9 Of the falls in the Rhine, near Schaffhausen. 1787Best Angling (ed. 2) 30 It is good angling..at the falls of mills. 1806Gazetteer Scot. (ed. 2) 92 The falls of Clyde principally interest the stranger. 1832H. Martineau Life in Wilds ix. 116 On that fall of the stream will be our mill. 1872Raymond Statist. Mines & Mining 198 The roar of the falls is heard in the distance.
†b. That over which water falls. Obs.
1749F. Smith Voy. Disc. N.-W. Pass. II. 26 Some Pieces [of ice] stopped upon a Fall or Ridge of Stone.
†c. fall of a bridge: cf. quot. 1880.
1626Bacon Sylva §115 Waters, when they..are strained (as in the falls of Bridges). [1880Walmisley Bridges over Thames 6 The resistance caused to the free ebb and flow of a large body of water by the contraction of its channel produced a fall or rapid under the bridge.]
8. a. Downward direction or trend of a surface or outline; a deviation, sudden or gradual, in a downward direction from the general level; a slope or declivity.
1565–73Cooper Thesaurus, Abruptum..that hath such a fal or stipenesse downe, that a man cannot go but fall downe. 1601Holland Pliny II. 615 Neither doth this circle shine in the concauitie or in the fall of the gem. 1712J. James tr. Le Blond's Gardening 194 A small insensible Fall should be given these Channels. 1755Gray Lett. Wks. 1884 II. 265 A natural terrass three mile long..with a gradual fall on both sides. 1832Scott Jrnl. (1890) II. 465 Stocked with wild animals towards the fall of the hills. 1847Marryat Childr. N. Forest xxvii, The symmetrical fall of the shoulders. 1858Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XIX. i. 188 Most of the Weald lands have a good fall for draining. 1865Baring-Gould Werewolves vii. 87 The girls..saw a little fall in the ground.
b. The distance through which anything descends, whether suddenly or gradually; the difference in the levels (of ground, water, etc.).
1686Burnet Trav. iv. 238 The Tarpeian Rock is now of so small a fall, that a Man would think it no great matter..to leap over it. 1712J. James tr. Le Blond's Gardening 191 You..know exactly what Fall there is from the Top of the Hill..to the Bottom. 1739C. Labelye Short Acc. Piers Westm. Bridge 11 The perpendicular Height of the Fall that might be expected under a Bridge. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) I. 223 Its waters are..poured down, by a fall of an hundred and fifty feet perpendicular. 1881Salter Guide Thames 9 Hart's Weir..has a fall of 3 ft.
c. Naut. (See quots.)
1644H. Manwayring Seaman's Dict. 38 When we mention the Falls of a ship..it is meant by the raising or laying some part of the Deck higher, or lower then the other. 1680Lond. Gaz. No. 1526/4 The Adventure Pink, Dogger built, two Decks, with a Fall where the Windles stand. c1850Rudim. Navig. (Weale) 117 Fall, the descent of a deck from a fair curve lengthwise..to give height to the commander's cabin, and sometimes forward at the hawse⁓holes.
9. The sinking down of the fluid in a meteorological instrument. Said also of temperature, and loosely of the instrument itself.
1806Gregory Dict. Arts & Sc. I. 204 The principal cause of the rise and fall of the mercury is from the variable winds. 1815T. Forster Atmos. Phenom. 228 The rise of the thermometer..accompanies the fall of the barometer. 1823Scoresby Jrnl. 30 The most remarkable fall of temperature I ever witnessed. 1864Nat. Hist. Trans. Northumb. & Durh. I. 119 The violent falls in the barometer were not attended by corresponding disturbance of the air.
10. Mus. A sinking down or lowering of the note or voice; cadence.
1601Shakes. Twel. N. i. i. 4 That straine agen, it had a dying fall. 1634Milton Comus 251 At every fall smoothing the raven down Of darkness. 1706A. Bedford Temple Mus. ix. 186 A fall in Musick, and then a rising again to the same sound. 1760Beattie Hermit ii, Why..Philomela, that languishing fall? 1855Bain Senses & Int. iii. ii. §14 The echo of one of the falls of an old utterance. 1879Geo. Eliot Coll. Breakf. P. 682 Mortal sorrows..Are dying falls to melody divine.
11. A sinking down or reduction in price, value, etc.; depreciation.
c1555Edw. VI Jrnl. (1884) 39 There was a Proclamation fighed [signed] for shortening of the fall of the Mony. 1614Bp. Hall Recoll. Treat. 127 Another..hanging himselfe for the fall of the market. a1687Petty Pol. Arith. (1690) 99 The natural fall of Interest, is the effect of the increase of Mony. 1708J. Chamberlayne St. Gt. Brit. i. ii. xiii. (1743) 126 By the great fall of Monies now, the Sheriffs authority..is much diminished. 1814Stock Exchange Laid Open 5 The speculator..anxiously looks for a fall. 1845McCulloch Taxation ii. xi. (1852) 380 The remarkable fall..in the prices of corn. 1848Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 189 A sudden fall of rents took place.
III. A falling from the erect posture.
12. A falling to the ground:
a. of persons. spec. A descent to the floor in the technique of modern dancing.
a1300Cursor M. 537 (Cott.) Hijs fete him bers up fra fall. c1440Promp. Parv. 147 Fal, casus, lapsus. 1576Fleming Panopl. Epist. 285 They cannot avoyd the fall whereof they be in danger. 1632Lithgow Trav. iii. 82 Onely apprehended by a fall in his flight. 1809W. Irving Knickerb. (1861) 224 Risingh..hastened to take advantage of the hero's fall. 1853Lytton My Novel iii. ii, He felt the shock of his fall the more, after the few paces he had walked. 1949Shurr & Yocom Mod. Dance v. 174 This fall requires a strong contraction of hip and abdominal muscles. Ibid. 190 The use of the floor as a momentary base in a total movement sequence of fall and recovery.
b. of a building, etc.; fig. of an institution, etc.
a1300Cursor M. 28853 (Cott.) A wall bateild fast wit-vten fall. 1535Coverdale Matt. vii. 27 That housse..fell, and great was the fall of it. 1576Fleming Panopl. Epist. 282 Some are slaine with the soudaine ruine and fall of a bancke. 1661J. Childrey Brit. Bacon. 131 And the Elegies they commonly sing at their [stately Piles'] fall. 1756–7tr. Keysler's Trav. (1760) II. 447 He relates the fall of one of these wooden structures at Fidena. 1841Lane Arab. Nts. I. 109 The other by a fall of a house.
c. spec. of a wicket in Cricket.
1871‘Thomsonby’ Cricketers in Council 30 Swiping..or rushing far out of your ground to meet the ball..are equally certain to result in the ultimate fall of your wicket. 1966J. Arlott in B. Johnston Armchair Cricket 1966 9 Every run and fall of a wicket.
d. Real Tennis. (See quot.)
1900G. E. A. Ross in A. E. T. Watson Young Sportsman 609 The second contact of the ball with the floor, called the fall of the ball, at any point where chase-lines are painted.
13. Wrestling. The fact of being thrown on one's back by an opponent; hence, a bout at wrestling. Phrases, to give, shake (Sc.), try, wrestle a fall. lit. and fig. Cf. foil.
1553Eden Treat. Newe Ind. (Arb.) 6 Not for one foyle or fal to be dismayd. 1600Shakes. A.Y.L. i. ii. 216 You shall trie but one fall. 1602Carew Cornwall 76 a, Whosoever ouerthroweth his mate in such sort..is accounted to giue the fall. 1645R. Baillie Lett. (1775) II. 111 We must wrestle a fall with some kind of creatures. 1676Cotton Walton's Angler ii. vi. (1836) II. 371 Let him [a fish] come, I'll try a fall with him. 1686Dryden Duchess of York's Paper Defended 125 As three Foils will go towards a Fall in Wrastling. 1768Ross Helenore i. 141 Fu' o' good nature..And kibble grown at shaking of a fa'. 1803Anderson Cumbld. Ball. 62 At rustlin, whilk o' them dare try him a faw? 1855Kingsley Heroes ii. iii. (1868) 216, I must wrestle a fall with him. 1868Times 14 Apr. 6/5 France..was not then ready to try a fall with Prussia. 1883Standard 24 Mar. 3/7 The final falls were wrestled between Moffatt and Kennedy.
14. a. A felling of trees; concr. the timber cut down at one season.
1572Nottingham Rec. iv. (1889) 141/29 In wyne iij. quartes..fetched..when the falle was appoynted xij d. a1613Overbury Newes, Newes fr. verie Countrie Wks. (1856) 176 Justices of peace have the selling of underwoods, but the lords have the great fals. 1649W. Blithe Eng. Improv. Impr. (1652) 160 At every fall..take a good..Sampler growing of Ash or Willow. 1707Lond. Gaz. No. 4373/4 The Fall of above 130 Acres of Wood Land..are to be sold. 1864Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XXV. ii. 314 Beech woods..are periodically thinned, and the fall used by wheelers and..chair-makers. 1879G. F. Jackson Shropsh. Word-bk. s.v., The young Squire..'e'll fall a sight of timber; an' a grand fall theer'll be.
†b. The roots and stumps of felled trees. Obs.
1785Phillips Treat. Inland Nav. 40 Grubbing up the fall at fifty years, then planting again in the same place.
c. Marl-digging. (See quot.; cf. 19 d.)
1847Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. VIII. ii. 313 They..proceed to make what are termed ‘falls’..this is done by..undermining at the bottom..clay wedges shod with iron..driven in at top..and..the clay splits down perpendicularly.
15. Of a city or fortress: The fact of coming into the power of an enemy by capture or surrender.
1586A. Day Eng. Secretary i. (1625) 35 Achilles and Hector, that made the fall of Troy so famous. 1776Gibbon Decl. & F. (1887) IV. 499 The fall and sack of great cities. 1816E. Baines Hist. Wars Fr. Rev. i. xxiv, Immediately on the fall of Mantua, Bonaparte published a proclamation to his army. 1855Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. 183 It was universally supposed that the fall of Londonderry could not be long delayed.
16. fig.
a. A succumbing to temptation; a lapse into sin or folly. In stronger sense: Moral ruin.
a1225Ancr. R. 326 Þet fifte þing is muche scheome þet hit is, efter val, to liggen so longe. a1300Cursor M. 9770 (Cott.) Adam..moght wit na chance Of his fall get gain couerance. c1450tr. T. à Kempis' Imit. i. xxv. 37 The religiose man..is open to a greuous falle. 1503–4Act 19 Hen. VII, c. 28 Preamb., The Kinges Highnes..beyng sory for eny suche untrougth and fall of eny of his subgiects. 1587Mirr. Mag., Humber xvi, Let my..fall..bee A glasse wherein to see if thou do swerue. a1656Bp. Hall Rem. Wks. (1660) 415 He who before fel in over pleasing himself, begins to displease himself at his fall. 1758S. Hayward Serm. xvii. 516 They see the falls of those that profess a real love for him. 1826Disraeli Viv. Grey. v. xiii, The moral fall of a fellow creature!
b. Theol. the fall, the fall of man: the sudden lapse into a sinful state produced by Adam's transgression.
a1300[see prec.]. 1553T. Wilson Rhet. (1580) 42 The other Sacramentes..were applied to mans nature after the fall. a1656Bp. Hall Rem. Wks. (1660) 359 Mans will since the fall hath of it self no ability to any Spiritual Act. 1698J. Keill Exam. Th. Earth (1734) 189 The Theorist..ridicul'd the Scriptural relation of the Fall. 1699Burnet 39 Art. ix. 111 To return to the main point of the Fall of Adam. 1875Manning Mission H. Ghost vi. 157 We are all conscious of the effect of the fall.
†17. ellipt. for: The cause of a fall. Cf. to be the death of, etc. Obs.
1535Coverdale Judg. ii. 3, I wil not dryue them out before you, that they maye be a fall vnto you. 1594Hooker Eccl. Pol. i. iv. 56 The fall of Angels, therefore, was pride. 1611Bible Ecclus. v. 13 The tongue of man is his fall.
18. a. The fact of being struck down by calamity or disease, in battle, etc.; death, destruction, overthrow.
c1205Lay. 635 Þaet ne mihte þes kinges folc of heom fael makien. c1400Destr. Troy 7933 Þi falle I dessyre. 1595Shakes. John iii. iv. 141 But what shall I gaine by yong Arthurs fall? 1611Bible Judith viii. 19 Our fathers..had a great fall before our enemies. 1659B. Harris Parival's Iron Age 322 Now happened the fall of one of the greatest men in Europe..Oliver Cromwell. 1842Macaulay Lays, Lake Regillus xxix, And women rent their tresses For their great prince's fall.
b. An arrest. Criminals' slang.
1893[see fall money s.v. sense 29]. 1894Reminisc. Chief-Insp. Littlechild xx. 204 This man..is now in prison on the Continent. The story of his last ‘fall’ is interesting. 1935[see sense 18 c].
c. A period of imprisonment. Criminals' slang.
1934Amer. Speech IX. 26/2 Fall, v. to go to prison. n. a term in prison. 1935N. Ersine Underworld & Prison Slang 35 Fall. 1. An arrest. 2. An imprisonment. ‘That last fall got him the book.’
IV.
19. As a measure. †a. The distance over which a measuring-rod ‘falls’; esp. in fall of the perch (= b). Obs.
The general sense in the first quot. may have been merely inferred by Folkingham from the specific use.
1610W. Folkingham Art of Survey ii. iv. 52 Lineal Fals. Lineall dimensions are diuersified..as Inches, Palmes [etc.]. Ibid. ii. vii. 59 Acres..differ in Content according to the..lineall Fall of the Pearch.
b. A lineal measure (orig. = perch, pole, rod), the 40th part of a furlong, varying in actual extent according to the value locally assigned to this.
App. peculiar to northern and north midland districts, where the furlong was larger than the present statute furlong.
1597Skene De Verb. Sign. s.v. Particata, Sa meikle lande as in measuring falles vnder the rod or raip, in length is called ane fall of measure, or ane lineall fall. 1662Dugdale Hist. Imbanking & Draining 165 Another [Gote] to be set fourscore falls beneath the old Sea Gote. 1869Peacock Lonsdale Gloss., Fau', a rood of lineall land-measure of seven yards.
c. The square measure corresponding to the above; the 160th part of a customary acre. Now only in Scotland, where it = 36 square ells.
[1319Charter Conishead Priory, Lancs. in Dugdale Mon. (1661) II. 425 Concessionem..de duabus acris, & tribus rodis terræ, & triginta fallis.] 1597Skene De Verb. Sign. s.v. Particata, Ane superficiall fall of Lande..conteinis ane lineall fall of bredth and ane lineall fall of length. 1629Manch. Court Leet Rec. (1886) III. 152 Adam Smith hath purchased..ffoure ffalles of land. 1760in Scotsman 20 Aug. (1885) 5/3 Fourteen acres, thirty-three falls, and six ells of ground. 1827H. Steuart Planter's G. (1828) 343 At the rate of 9d. or 10d. per Scotch Fall (which is about one fifth part larger than the English Pole or Rod). 1864A. McKay Hist. Kilmarnock 303 The Green then measured eighty-seven falls.
d. Marl-digging. A measure of 64 cubic yards. (Perh. not in any way connected with the preceding: see 14 c.)
1849Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. X. i. 27 The marl is calculated [in Lancashire] by the fall, which is 64 cubic yards.
V. A falling to one's share; a happening, occurrence.
†20. What befalls or happens to a person; one's fortune, ‘case’ or condition, lot, appointed duty, etc. Obs.
c1400Destr. Troy 8117 Thy fall and þi faith is foule loste. c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon xii. 304 Fowle fall have I now yf I feyne me now. c1489― Blanchardyn xx. 68 Held her hert..so ouer pressid wyth loue that she had to blanchardyn that she myght noo lenger hyde her falle. a1533Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel (1546) P, A sodayne falle of mischaunce. 1631Heywood Fair Maid of West iv. Wks. 1874 II. 393 What must my next fall be? 1721Wodrow Corr. (1843) II. 557 It is my fall to go to the next Assembly. 1785–6Burns Address to Deil xvi, Black be your fa! 1832–53Whistle-binkie (Sc. Songs) Ser. iii. 121 Fair be thy fa! my Phœbe Graeme.
†21. The date of occurrence (of days). Obs.
1583Stubbes Anat. Abus. ii. 66 [The almanac may be useful] to distinguish winter from sommer, spring from haruest, the change of the moone, the fall of euerie day.
†22. The descent (of an estate, etc.). Obs. rare.
1579J. Stubbes Gaping Gulf D iij, Noble men..in their vsuall conveighances do marshall the fal of theyr inheritances by limitation vpon limitation.
VI. In various concrete applications.
23. An article of dress.
a. A band or collar worn falling flat round the neck, in fashion during the seventeenth century.
1599Marston Sco. Villanie iii. Wks. 1856 III. 223 Under that fayre ruffe so sprucely set, Appeares a fall, a falling⁓band forsooth! 1608Machin, etc. Dumb Knt. i. in Hazl. Dodsley X. 122 The French fall, the loose-bodied gown, the pin in the hair. 1640G. H. Wit's Recreations No. 250 A question tis why women weare a fall. 1852Thackeray Esmond iii. viii, His lordship was represented in his scarlet uniform..with..a fall of Bruxelles lace. 1858Simmonds Dict. Trade, Fall, a border of lace to the neck-part or body of a lady's evening dress.
b. A kind of veil worn by women; esp. one hanging from the front of the bonnet.
1611Tourneur Ath. Trag. iv. i, There are those Falles and Tyres I tolde you of. 1818S. E. Ferrier Marriage xxiv, The Chantilly fall which embellished the front of her bonnet. 1865Ann. Reg. 48 Miss Kent wore a thick fall, which almost screened her face from view.
c. In various applications: (see quots.).
1634T. Carew Cœlum Britannicum 2 Mercury descends..upon his head a wreath with smal fals of white Feathers. 1688R. Holme Armoury iii. 258/1 Some..have..Falls or long Cufts to hang over the Hands. 1726G. Shelvocke Voy. round World (1757) 112 The Montera or Spanish cap, made with a fall to cover their neck and shoulders. 1869F. B. Palliser Lace iv. 49 The..ladies wore their sleeves covered up to the shoulders with falls of the finest Brussels lace. a1921G. H. Gibson in Penguin Bk. Austral. Ballads (1964) 206 He could..Chop his name with a green-hide fall on the flank of a flyin' steer. 1933L. G. D. Acland in Press (Christchurch) 14 Oct. 15/7 Fall, a plain strip of leather at the end of the lash of a whip to which the cracker is attached.
24. a. Bot. in pl. Those parts or petals of a flower which bend downward.
1794Martyn Rousseau's Bot. xiv. 155 The three outermost of these parts..are bent downwards, and are thence called falls. 1882Garden 22 Apr. 284/2 The ‘falls’..are pure ivory-white.
b. The long hair hanging down the faces of certain terriers.
1908J. Maxtee English & Welsh Terriers 86 When the coat is sufficiently long to justify its being done, the ‘fall’ (as the long hair covering the face is termed by fanciers) should be plaited and tied up over the head with ribbon. 1948B. Vesey-Fitzgerald Bk. Dog 996 Fall, the long fringe of hair overhanging the face of the Yorkshire, Skye and Clydesdale terriers.
25. The moveable front of a piano, which comes down over the key-board.
26. a. Mech. The loose end of the tackle, to which the power is applied in hoisting.
1644H. Manwayring Seaman's Dict. 38 The small roapes which we hale-by in all tackles, is called the fall of the tackle. 1752Smeaton in Phil. Trans. XLVII. 495 The..line, by which the draught is made..commonly called, the fall of the tackle. 1828J. M. Spearman Brit. Gunner (ed. 2) 184, 7..assists..in passing the fall round the windlass. 1848Layard Nineveh II. xiii. 80 The ends, or falls of the tackle..being..held by the Arabs.
b. An apparatus for lowering bales, etc.; also Naut. in pl.
1832Marryat N. Forster x, Overhaul the boat's falls. 1860[see 29 fall-way]. 1881W. C. Russell Sailor's Sweetheart I. viii. 289 The port boat's falls were..provided with patent hooks, which sprang open and released the boat the moment she touched the water.
†27. An alleged name for a covey or flight (of woodcocks). Obs.
c1430Lydg. Hors, Shepe. & G. 30. Hence 1486Bk. St. Alban's F vj b.
VII. attrib. and Comb.
28. a. attributive (sense 2), as fall-feed, fall-plowing, etc. b. objective (sense 13), as fall-giver, fall-taker.
1602Carew Cornwall i. 76 The fall-giuer to be exempted from playing againe with the taker. 1677W. Hubbard Narrative ii. 14 Offering..to pay forty Beaver Skins at the next Fall-Voyage. 1788Franklin Autobiog. Wks. 1887 I. 286 The orders..for insurance..for fall goods. 1821in Cobbett Rur. Rides (1885) I. 3 Whole families were frequently swept off by the ‘fall-fever’. 1848Chandler in Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. IX. ii. 524 All the manure from the fall-feed is left where made. 1856Olmsted Slave States 663 The improvement had been effected entirely by draining and fall-plowing. 1906Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 17 Jan. 1/5 The condition of the fall wheat of Alberta today is declared to be A1. 1926Ibid. 18 July 2/5 Officials have been working indefatigably in their efforts to this year promote the most successful Fall Fair that this community has ever experienced. 1928M. de la Roche Whiteoaks (1929) ii. 27 He had a new fall overcoat of expensive English melton.
29. Special comb.: fall-block, either of the two lower blocks of a boat's falls; fall-board, a shutter hinged at the bottom; fall-breaker (break v. 28 b), that which reduces the impact of a fall or the speed of falling; † fall-bridge, a boarding-bridge attached to the side of a ship; fall-cloud (see quot.); fall-(iron) door (see quot.); fall-fish (see quot.); fall-front n. and attrib. = drop-front (s.v. drop- a); fall-gate, dial. (see quot.); fall guy slang (orig. U.S.), one who is easily tricked, an easy victim; one who ‘takes the rap’ for others, a scapegoat; fall-leaf U.S., a table-leaf which can be let down; also attrib.; fall(-)line, (a) a line in the eastern United States marked by waterfalls and rapids at points where rivers cross it and forming the boundary between the Atlantic coastal plain and the Piedmont; hence in Physical Geogr., any line joining points of sudden descent on rivers and representing a similar geological discontinuity (see quot. 1968); (b) Ski-ing [ad. G. fallinie] (see quot. 1961); fall money Criminals' slang, money set aside by a criminal for use if he should be arrested; fall-pipe, (a) the sloping inlet pipe of a water-ram; (b) the pipe conveying rainwater from a roof, etc., to the ground; fall-pippin U.S., a certain variety of apple; fall-rise Phonetics (see quot. 1932); fall-rope, a rope used for lifting; fall-trap = fall n.2; fall-way (see quot.); fall-wind, a sudden gust; † fall-window = fall-board; † fall-wood, wood that has fallen or been blown down; fall zone = fall-line (a).
a1877Knight Dict. Mech. 678/1 s.v. Davit. When the boat is lowered the hooks of the *fall-blocks are cast off simultaneously. 1883Man. Seamanship for Boys 136 Fall Blocks, for Top-Tackle Pendants.
1743W. Ellis Mod. Husbandm. (1744) III. i. July 86 The Entrance [being] afterwards stopped with a *Fall-board, so that no Pole-cat..can in the least molest them. 1820Blackw. Mag. June 281 A pair of fall-boards belonging to a window.
1927Daily Express 31 Oct. 13/2 The competitors climb like cats to the top of a tall tower... They jump and dive eighty-five feet into *fall-breakers. 1946W. F. Burbidge From Balloon to Bomber iii. 35 Leonardo da Vinci..in his manuscript Codex Atlanticus (circa 1514) described a device, aptly called a ‘fall-breaker’, consisting of ‘a tent of chalked linen’ which would enable a man to ‘fall from any great height without danger to himself’.
1375Barbour Bruce xvii. 419 Thai the schip on na maner Micht ger cum till the vall so neir That thair *fall-brig mycht reik thar-till.
1823T. Forster Atmos. Phenom. i. §4 (ed. 3) 12 heading, Of the Stratus or *Fallcloud.
1837C. V. Incledon Taunus 207 A *fall iron door, which answered the double purpose of door, and draw⁓bridge.
1812J. Henry Camp. agst. Quebec 32 A delicious chub which we call a *fall-fish.
1902W. H. Hackett Decorative Furnit. xiii. 160 A satinwood upright secretaire with *fall-front. 1907Yesterday's Shopping (1969) 372/1 Fall front spirit stands..2-pint half cut bottles..34/0. 1929Times 2 Nov. 7/5 A Louis XV. kingwood marqueterie escritoire, with..the fall-front drawer, and pigeon holes. 1955R. Fastnedge Eng. Furnit. Styles iii. 87 Small walnut and marquetry fall-front writing cabinets on chests of drawers or stands.
14..Brome Commpl. Bk. (1886) 165 Ony man that hath noȝte hangyd his *fal-ȝates at resonable tymes. 1795Marshall E. Norf. Gloss. (E.D.S.), Fall-gate, a gate across a public road. 1886Chester Gloss., Fall-gate, a gate across the high road.
1906H. Green At Actors' Boarding House 226, I never thought I'd be the *fall guy for such raw work as this. 1912G. Bronson-Howard Enemy to Society ix. 293 We ain't goin' to be th' ‘fall guys’ for Steve... If we've got to do time, so has he! 1929‘C. G. Gordon’ Crooks Underworld 118 The grafter becomes the ‘fall guy’, and the solicitors ensure immunity from scandal by falling back on the dignity of their profession. 1935Amer. Speech X. 15/1 Fall guy, [formerly] one who bungles his work and usually gets caught; a clumsy thief. This word now means one who is made the goat, one who involuntarily takes the rap for the rest of the gang. 1946‘P. Quentin’ Puzzle for Fiends (1947) xxi. 149 Selena..would deliver me as a fall guy to the police without batting an eye. 1956S. Bellow Seize Day (1957) i. 34 Perhaps he was foolish and unlucky, a fall guy, a dupe, a sucker. 1959‘M. Ainsworth’ Murder is Catching vi. 77 There's never been a political murder yet..without there being some sort of a fall guy, prepared in advance. 1963Spectator 6 Sept. 295 Ward began to hear from friends that he was being cast for the part of fall guy (I know of no equivalent expression here) by Profumo's friends.
1854B. F. Taylor Jan. & June 204 It was the old table with the *fall leaves. 1882C. Waite Adv. Far West 189 [A] fall-leaf table.
1882Nation (N.Y.) 13 July 33/1 It is here, at the ‘*fall-line’, that the most available water-powers are to be found. 1902Ld. Avebury Scenery of Eng. xvi. 481 A similar line along the junction of the uplands with the sea-plain is known in the United States as the ‘fall-line’. 1955Sci. Amer. Mar. 82/2 In the Atlantic terrace the thin edge of the sedimentary wedge reaches inland to the ‘fall line’ (a zone of waterfalls) on the eastern side of the Appalachian Mountains. 1961J. S. Salak Dict. Amer. Sports 152 Fall line, the natural way down a slope—the course a rolling ball would take. On a perfect inclined plane, it would be the shortest straight line from any point on the slope to the bottom. 1968R. W. Fairbridge Encycl. Geomorphol. 344/1 The term ‘fall line’ or ‘fall zone’..has been adopted in geomorphology as a general term to identify the boundary between a more resistant crystalline upland or plateau province and a coastal plain of weak rocks. 1970Times 13 Feb. 13/5 Some series of gates are ranged down the fall line—the straight line down the mountain.
1893L. W. Moore His Own Story xii. 197 If any accident happened to us, Hall was to stand his part of the ‘*fall’ money. 1929‘C. G. Gordon’ Crooks Underworld 215 We had often discussed the matter of ‘fall money’.
1888Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin. 134 *Fall pipe, a drive pipe. 1929Daily Tel. 22 Jan. 12/4 When cornered he slid down a fallpipe.
1817–8Cobbett Resid. U.S. (1822) 16 The wind is knocking down the *fall-pipins for us. 1885Roe Driven back to Eden 262 Fall pippins and greenings.
1932D. Jones Outl. Eng. Phonetics (ed. 3) xxxi. 282 If there are several syllables following the emphatic fall, the terminal rise is spread over these. But if there is only one unstressed syllable following, the terminal rise is compressed into it. If there is no following unstressed syllable, the terminal rise is compressed into the same syllable as the emphatic fall; the emphatic syllable is therefore said in this case with a *fall-rise. 1962S. Stubelius in F. Behre Contrib. Eng. Syntax 200 Rise-endings and fall-rise endings are by no means rare in statements.
1889Cent. Dict., *Fall-rope. 1891Kipling Barrack-room Ballads (1892) 205 And the fall-rope whines through the sheave. 1933Times Lit. Suppl. 18 May 350/3 Someone had..thrown the body overboard, but a fall-rope caught it by the neck.
c1450Henryson Uplandis Mous & Burges Mous 90 Poems (1865) 111 Of cat, nor *fall-trap, I haif na dreid. 1837Carlyle Fr. Rev. (1872) III. vii. i. 213 Deadly gins and falltraps.
1860Bartlett Dict. Amer., *Fall-way, the opening or well through which goods are raised and lowered by a fall.
1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., *Fall-wind.
1422Searchers Verdicts in Surtees Misc. (1890) 16 The *falle wyndow to y⊇ streteward.
c1524Churchw. Acc. St. Mary Hill, London (Nichols 1797) 126 Two lode of *fawle wode. 1528Papers Earls of Cumberland in Whitaker Hist. Craven (1812) 308 Item, 3 load of falwood and bavings, 3s. 4d.
1929H. S. Sharp in Science LXIX. 545/1 The erosional surface to which it is proposed to apply the term *Fall Zone peneplane is of considerable importance. 1937Wooldridge & Morgan Physical Basis Geogr. xv. 220 The Fall Line, or, more accurately, the Fall Zone of North America, where falls and rapids mark the descent of the streams from the ‘old-land’ to the coastal plain. 1968Fall zone [see fall-line, above].
30. With adverbs forming combs. (rarely occurring in literary use) expressing the action of the corresponding verbal combinations (fall v. XI); as fall-in Mil. [fall v. 88 g] (see quot. 1852); fall-off, fall-out, etc.
1852R. Burn Naval & Mil. Techn. Dict. (ed. 2) ii. 92/1 Fall-in, beat of drum or trumpeter's call. 1862Sala Accepted Addr. 145 A ferocious fall-out about an abominable little Skye terrier. 1880G. M. Hopkins Let. 5 Sept. (1935) 109, I think the Lethe mythology of the last stanza is a fall-off and unrealises the whole. 1889Pall Mall G. 23 Aug. 2/1 A steady income from advertisements makes a slight fall off in the sale of less consequence. 1915‘I. Hay’ First Hundred Thousand vi. 42 Here the ‘fall-in’ sounded. 1958M. L. Hall et al. Newnes Compl. Amat. Photogr. x. 116 It [sc. bounce flash] produces soft, even lighting and reduces the effect of background fall-off. 1969Listener 5 June 786/1 There is going to be a fall-off in orders.
▪ II. fall, n.2|fɔːl|
Forms: 1 fealle, 5 falle, felle, 9 Sc. fa, 8– fall.
[OE. (mús-) fealle wk. fem. (= OHG. falla), f. feallan to fall.]
Something that falls; a trap-door, trap. Cf. pitfall, springfall.
[a1000Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 477 Pelx, musfealle.] c1440Promp. Parv. 147 Falle, or mowstrappe, muscipula, decipula. 1772T. Simpson Vermin-Killer 6 By a Fall is meant a wire door, hung at the top instead of the sides. 1802Sibbald Gloss., Fa, trap for mice or rats. 1823J. D. Hunter Captivity N. Amer. 114, I had constructed several falls..in the vicinity of the beaver houses.
▪ III. fall, n.3|fɔːl|
[Whale-fishing. Perh. a local Sc. pronunciation of whale; in Aberdeenshire wh is pronounced (f).]
a. The cry given when a whale is sighted, or seen to blow, or harpooned.
b. The chase of a whale or school of whales. loose fall (see quots. 1820 and 1867).
a.1694Acc. Sev. Late Voy. ii. (1711) 156 When they see Whales..they call into the Ship, Fall, fall. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Fall! a Fall! the cry to denote that the harpoon has been effectively delivered into the body of a whale.
b.1820W. Scoresby Acc. Arctic Reg. II. 237 When the whole of the boats are sent out, the ship is said to have ‘a loose fall’ Ibid. II. 534 Sometimes 10 or 12 fish are killed ‘at a fall’. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Loose fall, the losing of a whale after an apparently good opportunity for striking it.
▪ IV. fall, v.|fɔːl|
Pa. tense fell |fɛl|; pa. pple. fallen |fɔːl(ə)n|. Forms: inf. 1 feallan, 3–5 falle(n, south. valle(n, 3–6 fal, (5 fale, fulle, 6 faul(e, Sc. faa, fawe, 8–9 Sc. fa', 3– fall. pa. tense 1–3 féoll, 2, 3 feol, fol(l, 2–3 south. veol(l, 2–4 ful(l, 3 south. vul, 2–6 fel, 2 south. vel, 4–5 felle, (4 fele), 4 south. velle, 4–5 fil(l(e, fylle, 4 south. vil(l, 3– fell; weak forms: 4 felde, 6 falled. pa. pple. 1 feallen, 4–5 fallin, -yn, (4 faleyn), 5–8 faln(e, (6 faulen), Sc. 6 fawin, 8 fawn, 9 fa'(e)n, 3– fallen; also 4 falle, 4–5 fal, (7 fell), 5–7 fall; also 6 weak form falled.
[A Com. Teut. redupl. str. vb. (wanting in Gothic): OE. feallan = OFris. falla, OS. fallan (Du. vallen), OHG. fallan (MHG. vallen, mod.G. fallen), ON. falla (Sw. falla, Da. falde):—OTeut. *fallan (pa. tense *fefall-), perh.:—pre-Teut. *phal-n- cognate with L. fallĕre to deceive; more certainly cognate is Lith. pùlti to fall; the Gr. σϕάλλειν (if f. root sqhel) is unconnected.
In the intransitive senses often conjugated with be.]
I. To descend freely (primarily by ‘weight’ or gravity): opposed to ‘rise’.
1. a. intr. To drop from a high or relatively high position. Const. † in, into, to, on, upon; also, to the earth, ground.
c890K. Alfred Metra v. 15 (Gr.) Him on innan felð muntes mæᵹenstan. a1000Crist 1526 (Gr.) Hi sceolon raðe feallan on grimne grund. c1175Lamb. Hom. 61 Þe angles of heouene uolle for heore prude in to helle. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 155 Sum of þe sed ful uppe þe ston. a1225Ancr. R. 58 Ȝif eni unwrie put were, & best feolle þer inne. a1300Cursor M. 24538 (Cott.) Þe tere fell o min ei. 1382Wyclif Matt. xxi. 44 Vpon whom it [this stoon] shal falle it shal togidre poune hym. a1400–50Alexander 509 Þis egg, or þe kyng wyst, to þe erth fallis. c1430Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 2866 Malachias was fal of the toure. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 166 [The ball] mysseth the hande & falleth to the grounde. 1596Shakes. Tam. Shr. iii. ii. 163 All amaz'd the Priest let fall the booke. 1601― All's Well iv. iii. 217 His braines are forfeite to the next tile that falls. 1632Lithgow Trav. v. 190 Two of our Asses fell ouer a banke. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) I. 222 The water falls three hundred feet perpendicular. 1818Shelley Lett. Italy 10 Nov., A plant more excellent than that from which they [seeds] fell. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 84 A stone.. fell on the deck at his feet.
b. Proverb. fall back, fall edge: come what may; through thick and thin. Cf. back n.1 4.
1622Mabbe tr. Aleman's Guzman d'Alf. I. 9 Fall backe, fall Edge, goe which way you will to worke. 1781Cowper Let. 13 May. 1830Scott Jrnl. 21 Dec., Fall back, fall edge, nothing shall induce me to publish what [etc.].
c. fig. esp. with reference to descent from high estate, or from moral elevation.
a1300Cursor M. 8992 (Cott.) He fell fra liue and saul hele. 1483Caxton Gold. Leg. 215/2 To exclude hem from the felicite that they fil fro. 1621–51Burton Anat. Mel. i. i. ii. xi. 29 Falne from his first perfection. 1707Norris Treat. Humility v. 199 Pride..made them..fall from goodness and happiness. 1813Byron Giaour 139 No foreign foe could quell Thy soul, till from itself it fell. 1818Cruise Digest (ed. 2) II. 469 A fruit fallen from what is the creditor's. 1890T. F. Tout Hist. Eng. from 1689, 45 In 1719 Alberoni fell through a Court intrigue.
d. of what comes or seems to come from the atmosphere (e.g. hail, rain, lightning, etc.), and by extension of heaven, the stars, etc.
c1000ælfric Exod. ix. 19 Se haᵹol him on utan fealð. c1000Ags. Ps. lxxi[i]. 6 Se stranga ren fealleð on flys her. c1320Sir Tristr. 1936 Of snowe was fallen aschour. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. iv. 102 Þenne falleþ þer fur on false menne houses. c1400Mandeville (1839) xiv. 152 The dew of heuene..falleð vpon the herbes. 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. cvi. 128 Y⊇ stones..semed lyke thondre falled fro heuyn. 1614Bp. Hall Recoll. Treat. 499 What if heaven fall, say you? 1630Lord Persees 44 Fire..occasioned by lightning falling on some tree. 1671R. Bohun Disc. Wind 236 Rain, falling..by Bucket-fuls. 1842Tennyson Morte d'Arthur 262 Where falls not hail or rain or any snow. 1856Mrs. Browning Aur. Leigh iii. 97 The thunder fell..and killed a wife.
e. fig. of calamity, disease, fear, sleep, vengeance, etc.
a1300Cursor M. 10270 (Cott.) For þis resun Es fallen on þe þis malicoun. c1320Sir Tristr. 2951 Maugre on me falle Ȝif y þe wold slo! c1346Prose Psalter liv. [lv.] 4 Drede of deþ fel vp me. c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 266 Þe frenesie fil on hir. a1533Ld. Berners Huon li. 171 A grete mysfortune fell apon vs. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 16 Great moreyne fell upon brute beastes. 1611Bible Gen. ii. 21 God caused a deepe sleepe to fall vpon Adam. 1655Fuller Ch. Hist. iv. i. §20 Most fiercely fell their fury on the Dutch. 1751Jortin Serm. (1771) II. x. 200 Calamities..fall upon the good and the bad. 1860Sir T. Martin Horace 112 Wonder fell on all. 1870Rogers Hist. Gleanings Ser. ii. 48 A fiery persecution fell on the Lollards. 1886A. Sergeant No Saint II. vi. 132 A great stillness fell upon the place.
f. of darkness, night, etc.
a1613Overbury Characters, Fair & happy milk-mayd, When winter euenings fall early. 1771E. Griffith tr. Viaud's Shipwreck 86 Night began to fall. 1805Scott Last Minstr. iii. 24 The evening fell, 'Twas near the time of curfew bell. 1841Longfellow Excelsior 1 The shades of night were falling fast. 1862Tyndall Mountaineer. ii. 11 Soft shadows fell from shrub and rock. 1885Stevenson Dynamiter 104 The night fell, mild and airless.
g. Real Tennis. (See quots.) (Cf. fall n.1 12 d.)
1900G. E. A. Ross in A. E. T. Watson Young Sportsman 610 Y returns the first service so that X cannot reach the ball. The marker, seeing that it ‘falls’ (i.e., comes into contact with the floor for the second time) on the line 2, calls out ‘chase 2’. 1957Encycl. Brit. XIII. 793/1 A chase..is made, the goodness or the badness of which depends upon the spot on the floor which the ball touches next after its first bound... Thus if a ball fell on the line marked 4, he [sc. the marker] would call ‘chase 4’.
2. To become detached and drop off.
a. Of feathers, the hair, leaves, etc.: To drop off or out.
b. Of clothes: To slip off.
1297R. Glouc. (1724) 313 He let hym myd hors to drawe..Þat þe peces ffelle of ys fless aboute. a1300Cursor M. 3569 (Cott.) Þe freli fax [biginnes] to fal of him. 1530Palsgr. 544/1 Se howe his heares fall. 1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. iv. (1586) 165 b, His [peacock's] taile falling everie yeere. 1611Bible Lev. xiii. 40 The man whose haire is fallen off his head. 1852Thackeray Esmond i. ix, Her hair fell, and her face looked older. 1854Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XV. ii. 353 The foetal incisors and tushes..rarely fall before this period, notwithstanding they be worn to the gums.
fig.a1400in Retr. Rev. Aug. 1853. 419 Clerkyn lowe fal from me So doth ȝe lef on grofys tre. 1850Dickens Child's Dream of Star in Househ. Words I. 26 My age is falling from me like a garment. 1889Mrs. E. Lynn Linton Thro' Long Night II. ii. xiii. 196 Some of the quainter forms of his adopted speech were falling from him. 1890Univ. Rev. May 84 My fevered mood fell from me.
3. Of objects moving vertically as on a hinge: To drop to a lower position. † the orloge falles: (the hammer of) the clock strikes.
a1400Relig. Pieces fr. Thornton MS. (1866) 57 Before þat þe orloge falles, or any belles rynges. 1621Fletcher Thierry & Theodoret iii. ii, The vault is ready, and the door conveys to 't Falls just behind his chair. 1808Scott Marm. i. iv, Let the drawbridge fall. 1816J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art I. 15 Such a hammer will, as it is technically termed, fall well. 1881Greener Gun (1888) 139 The block is..held in position by a spring stud until the hammer falls.
4. a. To drop, come or go down, in a given direction or to a required position; chiefly in to let fall (an anchor, curtain, sail, etc.). Also, to let fall (a perpendicular): to draw so as to meet a base line. Of a lash: To be brought down.
1593Shakes. Rom. & Jul. iv. i. 100 Thy eyes windowes fall. 1594― Rich. III, v. iii. 116, I let fall the windowes of mine eyes. 1626Capt. Smith Accid. Yng. Seamen 27 Let fall your fore sayle. 1667Primatt City & C. Build. 161 Let a Perpendicular line fall upon the Base. 1696tr. Du Mont's Voy. Levant 98 Let fall a Ladder of Ropes. 1698Froger Voy. 69 We..let fall Anchor. 1816Playfair Nat. Phil. (1819) II. 18 The perpendicular is to be let fall..from the star on the meridian. 1881Besant & Rice Chapl. Fleet I. 187 The cruel cat falling at every step upon their naked and bleeding shoulders. 1889Repent. P. Wentworth II. ix. 179 The curtain fell on the fourth act.
b. To hang down, extend downwards.
1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. iii. (1586) 115 His mane..falling on the right side. 1665Sir T. Herbert Trav. (1677) 365 A party-coloured Mantle which falls no deeper than the knees. 1745P. Thomas Jrnl. Anson's Voy. 337 From the Ridge of his [Zebra's] Back down to his Belly, fall several streaks of various Colours. 1890Philips & Wills Sybil Ross's Marriage i. 5 Golden hair fell in great masses upon her shoulders. 1892Speaker 3 Sept. 289/2 Wild rose..falling in close exquisite veils of pink and green.
5. Of the young of animals: To be ‘dropped’ or born.
a1400–50Alexander 2081 Mare fersere in feld fell neuire of modire. 1532–3Act 34 Hen. VIII, c. 7 Any maner yonge suckinge calfe..which shall happen to fall or to be calued. 1595Shakes. John iii. i. 90 Let wiues with childe Pray that their burthens may not fall this day. 1617Markham Caval. i. 32 If a foale fall early in the yeare. 1711Addison Spect. No. 121 ⁋1 A Lamb no sooner falls from its Mother, but immediately [etc.]. 1844Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. V. i. 175 Calves that fall early enough to be fattened before grass time. 1864Ibid. XXV. ii. 296 The lambs should fall in May.
fig.1892Standard 12 Feb. 2/3 A plan which fell still⁓born.
6. Of speech, etc.: to fall from (a person, his mouth): to issue or proceed from.
1605Bp. Hall Medit. & Vows ii. §88 It was an excellent rule that fell from Epicure. 1770W. Hodson Ded. Temple of Solomon 1 Wisdom falling from his Tongue. 1813Hogg Queen's Wake 182 The wordis that fell fra her muthe War wordis of wonder. 1890Harper's Mag. June 45/1 Every word that fell from her lips.
II. To sink to a lower level: opposed to ‘rise’.
7. a. To descend, sink into, to. Now only of inanimate things.
c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 287 Whanne þe spiritis falliþ þan a mannes vertues failen. Ibid. 350 And þan do hem to seþing on þe fier til þe herbis falle to þe botme. 1665Hooke Microgr. 172 Flies..steady in one place of the air, without rising or falling. 1682Otway Venice Preserved i. i, The obsequious billows fall And rise again. 1822G. W. Manby Jrnl. (1823) 31 Those immense bodies of ice the undulating swell..caused to rise and fall. a1843Southey Inchcape Rock 7 So little they [waves] rose, so little they fell. 1891J. Winsor Chr. Columbus 238 There were signs of clearing in the west, and the waves began to fall.
b. To get into a low state, physically or morally; to decline. † to fall in age: to become advanced in years.
a1300Cursor M. 3563 (Cott.) Quen þat he bicomis alde, Til vnweild bigines to falle. c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 212 If he be feble..& his pous falle. 1530Palsgr. 543/2 You fall in age apace. 1614Bp. Hall Recoll. Treat. 213 Fall'n to bee levell with their fellowes; and from thence beneath them, to a mediocrity. 1667Milton P.L. i. 84 How fall'n! how chang'd From him who..didst outshine Myriads. 1728Veneer Sincere Penitent Pref. 6 How easy it may be..to fall from one wickedness to another. 1820Keats Isabel xxxii, Sweet Isabel By gradual decay from beauty fell. 1845–6Trench Huls. Lect. Ser. ii. viii. 280 We fall below our position. 1879Farrar St. Paul (1883) 49 He was ever falling and falling, and no hand was held out to help him.
†c. Of a bird or rider: To alight. Obs.
c1400Destr. Troy 13563 His broder..Fell vnto fote, & his fole esyt. 1535Coverdale Judg. i. 14 She fell from the Asse. c1575Bk. Sparhawkes (ed. Harding 1886) 16 That will make her fall at marke. 1619E. Bert Treat. Hawkes 6 You may perhaps finde her folly giue her leaue to fall again vpon the ground within..twenty yards of you.
†d. To go down hill. Obs. rare.
1691T. H[ale] Acc. New Invent. 123 For the Ships ease of falling into the Sea.
†e. Of the sun, etc.: To go down; to sink, set. Obs.
1633R. Johnson's Kingd. & Commw. 19 To places parellel, the Sunne neither riseth, nor falleth. 1658T. Willsford Nature's Secrets 37 Those Asterismes..That in the night do either rise or fall. 1669Sturmy Mariner's Mag. ii. 85 The Sun..is descending, or as we commonly say he is fallen.
8. Of land: To slope.
1573Tusser Husb. (1878) 100 Land falling..South or southwest, for profit by tillage is lightly the best. 1634Sir T. Herbert Trav. (1638) 31 Parts [of the earth] falling into fruitfull dales. 1694Smith & Walford Acc. Sev. Late Voy. i. (1711) 62 Rounds up..in white Cliffs, and falls into shores. 1862Temple Bar Mag. IV. 428 The high ground of the plateau falls towards this narrow strait.
9. a. Of a river or stream: To discharge itself, issue into.
c1205Lay. 1401 Þer Læire falleð i þa sæ. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xiii. iii. (1495) 442 The ryuer Downow..fallith in to the See that hyghte Ponticum. 1490Caxton Eneydos xxxiii. 122 The ryuer of tonyre..falleth there in to the see. 1613Purchas Pilgr. v. i. 381 The Riuer Ganges..falleth into the Gulfe of Bengala. 1705Arbuthnot Coins (1727) 251 The Loir, and the Rivers that fall into it. 1825New Monthly Mag. XV. 397 Rivers that fall into Lake Huron. 1865F. Hall in H. H. Wilson's Vishńu Puráńa II. 150 A river Veńi..falls into the Kŕishńá.
†b. transf. of a road. Obs.
1693Col. Rec. Pennsylv. I. 389 Lay ott the king's road, where it may fall into the king's old road. 1706Ibid. II. 276 A Road..falling into the Road leading to Philadelphia.
10. a. Of water, flames, etc.: To subside. Of the tide: To ebb.
a1300Cursor M. 1876 (Cott.) How sal we o þis waters weit Quedir þai be fulli fallen yeit? 1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 1216 Þe se..Ebbes and flowes, and falles agayn. 1535Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 451 Quhen that the flude war fawin. 1670Narborough Jrnl. in Acc. Sev. Late Voy. i. (1711) 66 The Water riseth and falls perpendicular ten Feet. 1726Swift Gulliver i. v, The tide was a little fallen. 1849Ruskin Sev. Lamps vii. §3. 185 The ocean falls and flows. 1886Shorthouse Sir Percival iii. 99 Flames that leaped up suddenly and fell again. 1887Earth and its Story I. 331 The water suddenly rose an inch and fell again.
fig.1632Lithgow Trav. iii. 117 Not..till it [Greece] fell to the lowest ebbe. 1705Addison Italy Ded. A 2 Their Hopes..rose or fell with Your Lordship's Interest. 1819Shelley Peter Bell the Third iv. xxii, What though..wit, like ocean, rose and fell? 1886Lesterre Durant I. v. 66 The grand music rose and fell with a flood of sound.
b. Of the wind, weather, etc.: To decrease in violence; to abate, calm down. Also in phrases, as it fell calm, a dead, flat calm.
a1300Cursor M. 24942 (Cott.) Þe storm it fell. 1670Narborough Jrnl. in Acc. Sev. Late Voy. i. 17 It fell calm this Afternoon. 1752Washington Barbadoes Jrnl. (1892) 73 Y⊇ Wind was fallen. 1840R. Dana Bef. Mast x. 24 In a few minutes it fell dead calm. 1872Howells Wedd. Journ. 5 The storm fell before seven o'clock.
11. fig. Of the countenance: To lose animation; to assume an expression of dismay or disappointment. [Orig. a Hebraism.]
1382Wyclif Gen. iv. 5 Caym was greetli wroth, and ther⁓with felle his chere. c1430Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 1882 Downward his chere lete he falle. 1611Bible Gen. iv. 5 Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. 1718Hickes & Nelson J. Kettlewell i. ii. 13 As soon as he heard the Sound of Drum or Trumpet, his Countenance did always fall. 1816Scott Antiq. vii, The countenance of the old man fell. 1888Q. Troy Town. viii. 81 Caleb's face fell a full inch.
12. To be lowered in direction, droop. Of the eyes: To be cast down.
1586A. Day Eng. Secretary ii. (1625) 48 The Peacocke..stooping doune to his feet, his feathers fall with the selfe⁓sight immediatly. 1665Hooke Microgr. 118 The tender Sprouts of it, after the leaves are shut, fall and hang down. 1889F. M. Crawford Greifenstein II. xviii. 234 His eyes fell before her gaze.
†13.
a. Of anything heated or swollen: To settle down. Obs.
1580Baret Alv. F 92 The swelling falleth or asswageth. 1632Massinger & Field Fatal Dowry iii. i, Fall and cool, my blood! Boil not in zeal. 1665Hooke Microgr. 39 You shall find the parts of the upper Surface to subside and fall inwards. 1823J. Badcock Dom. Amusem. 186 If blisters do not fall, lay cloths over them steeped in vinegar.
†b. To be worn down. Obs. rare—1.
1708Lond. Gaz. No. 4499/4 One..rough Stone weighing about 21 Carrats, a Point something fallen.
†14.
a. To shrink; esp. of an animal or a limb, to become lean. Also to fall in or out of flesh.
1530Palsgr. 544/2, I fall out of flessche by reason of sycknesse. 1599Shakes. Hen. V, v. ii. 167 A good leg will fall. 1615Crooke Body of Man 92 His body fell to the wonted scantling. a1661Fuller Worthies (1662) iii. 38 The cattle..will fall in their flesh, if removed to any other Pasture. 1686J. Smith Natural Time 33 A Pendulum..not being so subject to rise and fall, as others are. 1688R. Holme Armory ii. vii. 155/1 The tenth year the Temples [of a horse] fall. 17..Swift Direct. to Servants, The cattle are weak, and fallen in their flesh with hard riding.
†b. Of the complexion: To grow pale. Obs.
c1369Chaucer Dethe Blaunche 564 That maketh my hewe to fal and fade.
†15. Of a horse: to fall at or on the crest: to have the flesh or skin of the neck drooping or overhanging. Cf. crest-fallen. Obs.
1697Lond. Gaz. No. 3303/4 Lost..one white Nag..fallen at the Crest with the Harness. 1701Ibid. 3715/4 Stolen..a Sorrel Gelding..falls on the Crest.
16. a. Of (the fluid in) a meteorological instrument: To sink to a lower point.
1658Willsford Nature's Secrets 154 If the water [in a weather glass] falls a degree in 6 hours. 1660Boyle New Exp. Phys. Mech. xxiii, They found the suspended mercury fall a little as they ascended the hill. 1798tr. J.F.G. de la Perouse's Voy. round World II. x. 188 The barometer fell considerably. 1825A. Caldcleugh Trav. S. Amer. I. xi. 342 The thermometer in the winter seldom falls to freezing. 1860Adm. Fitz-Roy in Merc. Marine Mag. VII. 338 The quick⁓silver ranges, or rises and falls, nearly three inches. 1887C. C. Abbott Waste-Land Wand. ii. 22 As I left the house the old mercury barometer was falling.
b. Of temperature: To be reduced.
1871B. Stewart Heat §11 When the amount of sensible heat in a body diminishes its temperature is said to fall. 1890Gd. Words Aug. 553/2 The sun's temperature..may be rising instead of falling.
17. Music. To sound a lower note.
1597Morley Introd. Mus. 71 If the base rise or fall, you must not rise and fall iust as manie notes as your base did. 1674Playford Skill Mus. iii. 4 If your Bass should fall a seventh, it is but the same as if it did rise a second. 1706A. Bedford Temple Mus. ix. 177 Teaching them first to rise, or fall Six or Eight Notes.
18. a. Of a price, rate, rent, weight, etc.: To decrease, diminish, or become reduced.
1580Baret Alv. F 91 The price of victuall was not much fallen. 1602Carew Cornwall i. 20 b, When the price of corne falleth, men generally..breake no more ground, then will serue to supplie their owne turne. 1647Cowley Mistress, Bargain i, Let no man know The Price of Beauty faln so low! a1687Petty Pol. Arith. Pref., The Rents of Land are generally fall'n. 1776Adam Smith W.N. i. v. (1869) I. 45 The price of bullion has fallen below the mint price. 1890Chamb. Jrnl. 10 May 303/1 The number..has fallen from four thousand to one thousand.
b. Of articles for sale, investments, etc.: To be lowered or diminished in price or value.
1586A. Day Eng. Secretary ii. (1625) 62 Wools are as yet at high rate, but I thinke shortly they will fall. 1608Bp. Hall Vert. & Vices ii. 131 The Covetous..would despach himselfe when corne falles. 1707Cibber Double Gallant v. ii, May all the bank-stocks fall when I have bought 'em. 1713Swift Jrnl. to Stella 6 Feb., My livings are fallen much this year. 1801H. C. Robinson Diary I. 106 Wheat has fallen in our market from 92s to 30s the coomb. 1812G. Chalmers Dom. Econ. Gt. Brit. 466 The exchange fell below par.
III. To lose the erect position (primarily with suddenness): opposed to ‘stand’.
* To become suddenly prostrate.
19. a. intr. To be brought or come suddenly to the ground; also, to fall prostrate, to the ground, etc.
a1300Cursor M. 11760 (Cott.) Al þair idels..fel vnto þe grund. a1340Hampole Psalter xxi. 15 Þe iwes wend þat he sould haf fallen in till dust of ded. c1340Cursor M. 23695 (Trin.) Mony floures..þat neuermore shal falle ne dwyne. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. i. 113 He ful for sorwe Fro hus chaire. a1400–50Alexander 849 He stumbils..& fallis. 1486Bk. St. Alban's E vij b, Downe in to the steppis ther fallyn of his fete. 1556Aurelio & Isab. (1608) L, The extreme sorrowe..made her fall as almoste dede to the earthe. 1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. iv. ii. 20, I..am enioyn'd..to fall prostrate here, And beg your pardon. 1632Lithgow Trav. iii. 92 Where they fell, there they lay till the morne. 1671R. Bohun Disc. Wind 153 Trees, and sturdy Oaks..fell in this Tempest. 1694Acc. Sev. Late Voy. ii. (1711) 170 One may easily fall, as upon slippery Ice. 1719De Foe Crusoe (1840) II. xiii. 279 My horse fell. 1840Dickens Barn. Rudge vi, Starting aside I slipped and fell.
b. fig.; esp. in to fall to the ground: to come to nothing; to be discredited or futile. to fall flat: see flat a. 7 c.
1611Bible Prov. xi. 28 He that trusteth in his riches, shall fall. 1634W. Tirwhyt tr. Balzac's Lett. 237 Suffering that name to fall to ground. 1690Locke Govt. i. xi. (Rtldg.) 140 The natural power of kings falls to the ground. 1795Hist. in Ann. Reg. 126 The injurious epithets..being proofless, fell to the ground. 1825New Monthly Mag. XV. 51 Falsehood is sure to fall to the ground ultimately. 1848Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 516 The proposition fell to the ground. Ibid. II. 161 Who..could hope to stand where the Hydes had fallen? 1879M. J. Guest Lect. Hist. Eng. xxxiv. 346 His great hopes fell to the ground.
c. To come down on (the point of) a sword, etc. In the Bible translations, after Heb. use: To throw oneself upon.
1382Wyclif 1 Sam. xxxi. 4 So Saul cauȝte his swerd and felle vpon it [1388 felde theronne]. c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 67 He [a child] fel on þat knyf in þe former partie of þe þrote. 1611Bible 1 Sam. xxxi. 4 Therfore Saul tooke a sword, and fell upon it. 1884[So in R.V.].
d. Cricket. Of the wicket: To be knocked down by the ball in bowling. (By extension, the wicket is now said to fall when the batsman is dismissed in any way.) Const. to. Also, of the batsman, with to: to be out.
1773J. Duncombe in R. Freeman Kentish Poets (1821) II. 365 Full fast the Kentish wickets fell. 1859All Y. Round No. 13. 306 It was painful to see the Colonel's expression as the sergeant's wicket fell. 1882Daily Tel. 17 May, Robinson's wicket falling to Palmer's bowling. 1882Australians in Eng. 147 Grace fell to a catch at long-on. 1888R. H. Lyttelton in Steel & Lyttelton Cricket 344 Ridley again fell to Patterson, with the total at 16. 1890Sat. Rev. 5 July 5/2 The sixth wicket..fell for 91.
20. Used (after Heb. idiom preserved in the Vulgate) with reference to voluntary prostration: To prostrate oneself in reverence or supplication. Const. before, to (a person), in early use with dat., at, † to (his feet, † hand). Also, to fall on one's face, knees.
971Blickl. Hom. 27 Þas ealle ic þe sylle, ᵹif þu feallest to me & me weorþast. c1000Ags. Gosp. Luke xvii. 16 Þa cyrde he..& feoll to hys fotum. c1205Lay. 12716 Þe ærchebiscop feol [c 1275 fulle] to þes kinges fot. a1300Cursor M. 16632 (Cott.) Þai..on knes be-for him fell. Ibid. 25646 (Gött.) Thre kinges com of thrin land to fal þi suete sun til hand and gaf him gift. c1386Chaucer Man of Law's T. 1006 Whan sche saugh hir fader..Sche..falleth him to feete. a1400–50Alexander 815 Lordis & othire Come to þat conquerour & on knese fallis. 1611Bible Rev. xix. 10, I fell at his feete to worship him. 1614Bp. Hall Recoll. Treat. 1069 Their Governours fall on their faces to God. 1653H. Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. iii. 6 We fell on our knees before her. 1850Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xxvii, ‘I'm sure of it’, said Tom, falling on his knees.
21. (fig. of 19). To succumb to attack or opposing force.
a. Of a fortified place, rarely, of a ship: To be taken.
1606Shakes. Tr. & Cr. v. viii. 11 So Illion fall thou. 1632J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 81 The forts left alone unsuccour'd, would afterwards fall of themselves. 1797Nelson in Nicolas Disp. II. 343 On the quarter-deck of a Spanish First-rate..did I receive the Swords of vanquished Spaniards..thus fell these Ships. 1818Byron Juan i. lvi, When proud Granada fell. 1869W. Longman Hist. Edw. III, x, Stirling fell before he could advance to its relief.
b. Of an empire, government, institution, etc.: To be overthrown, come to ruin, perish.
1780Harris Philol. Enq. Wks. (1841) 514 After a succession of centuries, the Roman empire fell. 1803Mackintosh Def. Peltier Wks. 1846 III. 248 If it [the press] be to fall, it will fall only under the ruins of the British empire. 1818Byron Ch. Har. iv. cxlv, When falls the Coliseum, Rome shall fall; And when Rome falls—the World. 1874Green Short Hist. i. 20 The faith of Woden..was not to fall without a struggle. 1886Mrs. C. Praed Miss Jacobsen I. i. 14 The Ministry was certain to fall in a short time.
22. a. In moral sense: To yield to temptation, to sin; esp. of a woman: To surrender her chastity.
a1200Moral Ode 158 in E.E.P. (1862) 32 It is strong to stonde longe & liht it is to falle. c1340Cursor M. 25812 (Fairf.) Wiþ how litel speche he moȝt haue couered mercy quen he felle. 1526Tindale Rom. xi. 9 An occasion to faul. 1604Shakes. Oth. iv. iii. 88 It is their Husbands faults If wiues do fall. 1667Milton P.L. iii. 129 The first sort by their own suggestion fell, Self-tempted. 1758S. Hayward Serm. xvii. 505 When he [David] fell so criminally and publickly with Bathsheba. 1869Daily News 21 May, No girls..of any age who are suspected of having fallen. 1875Manning Mission H. Ghost i. 12 The first Adam..by sinning fell and died.
b. To become pregnant.
1722Session Bk. Penninghame (1933) I. 479 The said..Jannet..confessed that she fell with child and parted with it in May last. 1891Farmer Slang II. 370/2 Fall (venery), to conceive. 1957Young & Willmott in ‘C. H. Rolph’ Human Sum vii. 129 The expression a woman uses when she is pregnant. She says she has ‘fallen’. ‘We had been married eight months before I fell.’
23. a. To drop down wounded or dead; to die by violence; rarely, by disease. Also † to fall dead.
a1300St. Andrew 104 in E.E.P. (1862) 101 As he homward wende He ful ded. c1374Chaucer Anel. & Arc. 170 Sheo fallethe dede as any stoone. c1570Marr. Wit & Science v. i. in Dodsley O. Pl. 1874 II. 382 He ..fought and fell in open field. 1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. v. i. 62 The life-wearie-taker may fall dead. 1634Sir T. Herbert Trav. (1638) 115 A brave Prince..fell by the axe of treachery. 1703J. Savage Lett. Antients xliv. 106 If I had fallen in my Distemper. 1743Bulkeley & Cummins Voy. S. Seas 75, I had no desire of falling by the Hand of Captain C. 1874Green Short Hist. ii. 80 The greater part of the higher nobility had fallen in battle.
†b. To be taken ill of (a disease). Obs.
1538Hen. VIII in Select. Harl. Misc. (1793) 146 Yrion of Brearton, John Cocke the pothecary, be fallen of the swett in this house. 1653Evelyn Mem. 17 May, My servant..fell of a fit of apoplexy.
c. of animals. Also in Sporting phraseol. to fall to (one's rifle): to be brought down by.
1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 737 By the holy Butcher, if he [Ox] fell. 1823Scoresby Jrnl. 289 Another whale..fell under our lances. 1892H. Chichester in Dict. Nat. Biog. XXIX. 116/1 Seven lions fell to his rifle in one day.
†d. fig. To lapse, die out, expire. Obs.
1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. lxiv. 86 heading, The duke dyed without heyre, wherby the dyscencion [descent] fell. a1715Burnet Own Time II. 109 An additional excise, that had been formerly given, was now falling. 1754Erskine Princ. Sc. Law (1809) 187 A tack..granted to a single woman, falls by her marriage.
e. Cards. To be captured by (a higher card).
1712Pope Rape of the Lock iii. 64 Ev'n mighty Pam..now destitute of aid Falls undistinguish'd by the victor spade. 1889‘B. W. D.’ & ‘Cavendish’ Whist 2 A..leads knave of spades, to which nine, eight, and seven fall. Ibid. 58 The knave of diamonds must fall to the king.
f. Criminals' slang. To be arrested. Cf. fall n.1 18 b.
1879Macm. Mag. XL. 502/2, I fell (was taken up) again at St. Mary Cray for being found at the back of a house. 1938F. D. Sharpe Sharpe of Flying Squad xiv. 158 ‘What, has he fell again!’ Getting caught [by the police] is always referred to as ‘falling’.
g. Criminals' slang. To be convicted; to be sent to prison. Cf. fall n.1 18 c.
1893L. W. Moore His Own Story xxxiv. 447, I want you to follow my instructions when the case is tried, and if I fall I will find no fault with you. 1926J. Black You can't Win ix. 108 If you do fall, the government don't hang a lot of prior convictions on you. 1932‘S. Wood’ Shades Prison House ix. 140 A young Jew at Parkhurst who fell for three years at the game simply because he failed..of ascertaining the actual locale of the university of which he claimed to be an alumnus. 1934[see fall n.1 18 c].
24. Phrases (with sense varying betw. 21 and 23). to fall a prey, fall sacrifice, fall victim to. lit. and fig.
1648Boyle Seraph. Love xiv. (1700) 85 Thousands fall sacrifices to the severer Attribute. a1774Fergusson Drink Eclogue Poems (1845) 52 The ox..fa's a victim to the bluidy axe. 1825New Monthly Mag. XV. 523 He..fell a victim to his error. 1839T. Beale Sperm Whale 298 Brave men have at various times fallen a sacrifice to this kind of daring. 1885Manch. Exam. 6 July 4/6 The..books fell a prey to the flames.
25. a. To stumble † on, into; to be drawn or forced into (danger, fire, a pit, etc.); † to be caught in (a snare).
c1000Ags. Gosp. Matt. xvii. 15 Oft he fylþ on fyr, & ᵹelomlice on wæter. c1400Rom. Rose 6650 If ye fillen in her laas. 1456How Wise Man taught Son 64 in Hazl. E.P.P. (1864) 171 Comon women..Maks ȝongmen..fulle yn danger. 1548Hall Chron. 152 A man entending to avoide the smoke, falleth into the fyre. 1564Complaint Sinner in Sternhold, etc. Psalms, The righteous man falleth now..or than In daunger of thy wrath. 1585J. B. tr. P. Viret's Sch. Beastes C ij, To make them to fall into their nettes. 1611Bible Amos iii. 5 Can a bird fall in a snare vpon the earth, where no ginne is for him? ― Acts xxvii. 17 They..fearing lest they should fall into the quickesands, strake saile. 1694F. Bragge Disc. Parables xiv. 477 He perceives not the dangers under his feet till he falls into them. 1823Scoresby Jrnl. 390 In readiness for bringing up, if we seemed to be falling into danger. 1877C. M. Yonge Cameos Ser. iii. vii. 62 They fell into the ambush and were all cut off.
b. fig. to fall into (error, sin, etc.).
c1175Lamb. Hom. 63 God..ȝife us swa his will to donne..þat we ne fallen naut ine sunne. a1300Cursor M. 25400 (Cott.) Lat us in na fanding fall. 1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 3438 In swa many veniel syns we falle. c1449Pecock Repr. ii. ix. 199 So miȝti men..fillen into ydolatrie. c1500Lancelot 1322 Yow art fallyng in the storng vengans Of goddis wreth. 1553Eden Treat. Newe Ind. (Arb.) 10 Sayncte Augustyne..fell into a chyldishe errour. 1611Bible 1 Tim. iii. 6 Lest..hee fall into the condemnation of the deuill. 1649Bp. Hall Cases Consc. i. vii. 64 The necessity into which you are fallen. 1711Steele Spect. No. 53 ⁋4 Many new Vanities which the Women will fall into. 1751Jortin Serm. (1771) III. i. 21 Many persons fall into mistakes in their notions of happiness. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 202 An error into which we have fallen.
** With the additional notion of breaking up.
26. a. Of a building, etc.: To come down in fragments.
c1275Lay. 15949 Þine walles fulle. 1382Wyclif Isa. xxi. 9 He answerde, and seide, Is falle, is falle Babilon. c1450Merlin 37 The toure fallith. 1563Fulke Meteors (1640) 20 b, The people were faine to dwell abroad in the fields..for feare their houses would fall on their heads. 1608D. T. Ess. Pol. & Mor. 64 Though the wide world, being broke, should chance to fall, Her may the ruines hurt, but not appall. 1755Let. in Gentl. Mag. Dec. 561 At the time the city [of Lisbon] fell..on the opposite side of the river..many houses also fell. 1829Milman Hist. Jews xvi. (1878) 391 One of them [towers] had fallen with its own weight.
b. Of a substance: To crumble.
1770–4A. Hunter Georg. Ess. (1803) I. 30 Clay, well limed, will fall in winter.
†c. Of a vessel (in the body): To break down. Of a stitch: To give way. Obs.
1615Crooke Body of Man 83 How shal it passe that way after those passages and pores are falne. 1654Whitlock Zootomia 91 Let the Taylor..undertake to mend a stitch fallen in their Bodies.
27. a. to fall in or to † mould, pieces, powder: to break up into fragments, and drop. Similarly, to fall in two, fall asunder. In mod. use to fall to pieces is often transf. and fig.; cf. go, come to pieces (see piece).
c1340Cursor M. 22798 (Fairf.) Quen godd will sua..þat mans flexs to mold se fall. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xiii. i. (1495) 438 By strengthe of grete driness therth shulde falle to powder. 1665Hooke Microgr. 133 The casual slipping out of a Pin had made several parts of his Clock fall to pieces. 1697W. Dampier Voy. (1698) I. 215 His Ship..being old and rotten fell in pieces. 1799E. King Munimenta Antiqua I. 309 They fell to pieces on being touched. 1820Scoresby Acc. Arctic Reg. I. 254 The whole mass falls asunder. 1832F. A. Kemble Let. in Rec. Girlhood (1878) III. 214 The whole concern must collapse and fall to pieces. 1878Morley Carlyle Crit. Misc. Ser. i. 200 Would it have been better..for the old belief gradually..to fall to pieces. 1882Standard 9 Dec. 2/8 The crew rapidly fell to pieces.
†b. to fall in two, fall to pieces: (Sc.) to give birth to a child; cf. 40 c. Obs.
1781Bentham Wks. (1843) X. 111 Mrs. Dunning..is just ready to fall to pieces. 1788Picken Poems, Edina 43 She fell in twa wi' little din.
IV.
28. To move precipitately or with violence; to rush. Obs. exc. combined with preps., as in to fall upon, to assault (see branch X). † to fall about (a person's) ears: to assail suddenly with blows.
c1400Destr. Troy 2867 Other folke vpon fer fell thedur thicke. Ibid. 13171 Þai fell to me fuersly, & my folke slogh. a1400–50Alexander 1133 With þat þe flammand flode fell in his eȝen. 1632J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 163 Many Galleyes fall towards them so suddenly. 1660–1Pepys Diary 23 Mar., His master fell about his ears and beat him.
V. To be determined to a specified position or object; to have a certain incidence.
29. a. Of a missile or moving body, a movement; also, of light, the sight, etc.: To have or take its direction; to be determined or directed; to settle or impinge. Const. on, upon. So also of sound, to fall upon the ear.
1658Willsford Nature's Secrets 61 A Rain-bow..formed by the light rays of the Sun falling upon vapours..opposite unto him. 1665Hooke Microgr. 74 The ting'd Rays..past through them, and fell on a sheet of white Paper. 1709Berkeley Th. Vision §35 The rays falling on the pupil. 1793Smeaton Edystone L. §229 She..fell upon the south reef near the highest part. 1834Medwin Angler in Wales I. 290 A random spear..fell wide of him. 1865J. G. Bertram Harvest of Sea (1873) 236 The spawn falls at a considerable distance from the place where it has been emitted. 1878G. Macdonald Phantastes II. xvi. 53 The sound of a closing door..fell on my ear. 1886A. Sergeant No Saint II. vi. 131 His eye fell..upon Cissy. 1890Spectator 10 May, The dreary forest, where full light never falls. 1892Temple Bar Mag. Apr. 474 The words fell solemnly on the stillness.
b. To have its eventual situation in a certain place, or on a certain object.
1570Billingsley Euclid i. vii. 17 The poynt D shall fall either within the triangle ABC or without. 1589Puttenham Eng. Poesie ii. (Arb.) 86 The Cesure fals iust in the middle. Ibid. ii. (Arb.) 92 Your sharpe accent falles vpon the last sillable. 1705Cheyne Phil. Princ. §42. 245 Birds..lay their Heads under their Wings, that so the Center of the gravity..may fall upon the Foot they stand on. 1816Playfair Nat. Phil. (1819) II. 17 When the perpendicular..falls within the triangle. 1875Ouseley Harmony iv. 61 Causes the Semitones to fall between the 3rd and 4th.
30. Of a lot, a choice, or anything that is determined by fortune or choice: To ‘light upon’ a particular object. See also lot.
c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 124 Þe lote felle on Reynere, and on his wif also. c1385Chaucer L.G.W. 1942 Ariadne, The lotte is fallen hym upon. 1535Coverdale Ps. xv[i]. 6 The lott is fallen vnto me in a fayre grounde. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 417 After a long fight the victorie fell on the Englishe part. 1605Shakes. Macb. ii. iv. 30 The Soueraignty will fall vpon Macbeth. 1611Bible Acts i. 26 They gaue foorth their lots, and the lot fell vpon Matthias. 1721Lond. Gaz. No. 6008/1 The Election by Balloting fell upon M. d'Erlac. 1838Thirlwall Greece IV. 47 The suspicion of disaffection..fell on a man of eminent talents. 1855Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. 248 The choice..fell on Whig candidates. 1855Kingsley Heroes ii. (1868) 241 The people stood..weeping, as the lot fell on this one and on that.
31. To come as a lot, portion, or possession; to be allotted or apportioned. Const. † with dat. or to, † unto; rarely impers. Also in phrases, to fall to one's lot or share (see lot, share).
a1300Cursor M. 4072 (Cott.) Þat blis sal þe neuer fall. c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 142 Him felle to be þe toþer. c1400Rom. Rose 7343 Sich armour as to hem felle. 1475Bk. Noblesse 23 Youre next enheritaunce that fille to youre seide progenitoures. 1576Fleming Panopl. Epist. 35 Al⁓though it [victorie] fall to the lot of the better, yet [etc.]. 1586A. Day Eng. Secretary ii. (1625) 28 One onely poore Farme fell to my share. a1668Denham Progr. Learning 12 After the Flood, Arts to Chaldæa fell. 1696tr. Du Mont's Voy. Levant 127 The Commanderies..fall to 'em by right of Seniority. 1709Steele Tatler No. 180 ⁋1 He had an Estate fallen to him. 1742Fielding J. Andrews ii. xiv, The hogs fell chiefly to his care. 1838Thirlwall Greece II. 320 Many [prisoners] fell to the share of Agrigentum. 1858Carlyle Fredk. Gt. (1865) I. iii. xvi. 234 The whole fighting fell to Sir Horace. 1873Black Pr. Thule ix. 131 A greater treasure than falls to the lot of most men.
32. a. To come as a burden or duty. Const. to, on, upon; also to with inf.
1599Minsheu Dial. Sp. & Eng. (1623) 59 Doe you know when we watch? This night it fals to the companie. 1694Acc. Sev. Late Voy. ii. (1711) 174 The Loss or Gain falls upon the Merchants. 1841Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. II. i. 25 It falls rather to the Zoologist than to the Botanist to notice them. 1852Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XIII. i. 2 A charge of two cents an acre..fell to be paid by the allottees. 1885Law Times LXXIX. 188/2 The expense..must fall upon the purchaser.
b. Followed by inf. To be under the necessity, to ‘have to’ (be, do, etc.). rare in literary use; common in north. dial.
1845New Statist. Acct. Scotl. XV. (Caithness) 16 Eminent men. Under this head falls to be noticed the late Rev. David Mackay. 1848Blackw. Mag. Nov. 536 These countries would fall to be excluded. 1892H. R. Mill Realm of Nature i. 3 They alone fall to be considered here.
†33.
a. To appertain or belong; to be applicable, fitting, or proper. Const. dat. of indirect obj., or for, to, till. Obs.
1297R. Glouc. (1724) 6 Þe bischopriche of Ely, þat þe yle of Ely ys, And of al Cambrugge schire, þat þerto falleþ y wys. c1325Coer de L. 1392 An engyne..And al the takyl that therto fel. a1340Hampole Psalter xii. 6 Wondirful criynge þat falles till contemplatif lyf. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. i. 50 ‘Þenne Reddite’ quaþ God ‘þat to Cesar falleþ.’ c1386Chaucer Man of Law's T. 51 Sojourned have these marchauntz in the toun A certeyn tyme, as fel to here plesaunce. a1400Relig. Pieces fr. Thornton MS. (1867) 15 ‘Seese ȝowre callynge.’ This worde falles till vs folke of religioune. c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 298 Blood-letynge..falliþ for oure craft þouȝ we for pride take it to barbouris & to wommen. c1440York Myst. xxxi. 338 White clothis we saie fallis for a fonned ladde. c1450Bk. Curtasye 640 in Babees Bk. (1868) 321 Speke I wylle of oþer mystere Þat falles to court. 15..How Plowman lerned Pater Noster 20 in Hazl. E.P.P. (1864) 210 He coude..daube a wall; With all thynge that to husbondry dyde fall.
†b. impers.; also quasi-impers. with inf. phr. or subord. clause as subject. Obs.
1297R. Glouc. (1724) 446 Þe bones..yburede ys þere vayre ynou, as vel to an kyng. c1300Seyn Julian 9 (Ashm. MS.) It ne ualleð noȝt to me..to be ispoused to þe. c1325Metr. Hom. 11 It falles to a mihty king, That messager word of him bring. c1375Cato Major ii. ix. in Anglia VII, Hit falleþ mon to spende his good. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. xix. 186 ‘Hit falleþ nat me to lye.’ 1401Jack Upland, Pol. Poems (1861) II. 20 Dede men should have but graves, as falleth it to dede men. 1428Surtees Misc. 10 Als fallez a trew merchaunt to doo. 1563B. Googe Eglogs (Arb.) 103 She..supped well as falleth for her state.
VI. To come casually, or without design or effort, into a certain position.
34. Of things: To come by chance; esp. † to fall in or into a person's heart, mind, etc.: to occur to (him); also, to fall in one's † road, way, etc.; rarely of a person.
c1340Cursor M. 15483 (Fairf.), How muȝt hit falle in þi hert to be-gyn suche a dede. 1413Lydg. Pylgr. Sowle v. i. 71 It myghte not fall in no mans mynde fully to descryuen it. 1530Palsgr. 544/1, I wyll nat do but as it falleth in my brayne. 1583Hollyband Campo di Fior 3 There is some thing fallen I know not what into mine eyes. 1590Sir J. Smyth Disc. Weapons 23 b, I will..answere as many of them [objections] as shall fall into my memorie. 1605Bp. Hall Medit. & Vows ii. §44 As for riches, if they fall in my way, I refuse them not. 1624Massinger Renegado ii. iv, Nor can it fall in my imagination, What wrong you e'er have done me. 1656Burton's Diary (1828) I. 43 A matter of the like nature cannot possibly fall before you. 1677Hale Prim. Orig. Man. i. ii. 62 A..deliberate connexing of Consequents, which falls not in the common road of ordinary men. 1751T. Hollis in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden) 379 Acquainting you with any thing that fell in my way abroad. 1861M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 35 The earliest notice on the subject which has fallen in his way.
35. Of persons.
a. To come by chance into a certain position. Now chiefly in phrase (of biblical origin), to fall among (thieves, etc.).
c1175Lamb. Hom. 79 A mon lihte from ierusalem in to ierico and fol imong þoues. 1382Wyclif Luke x. 30 Sum man cam doun fro Jerusalem in to Jerico, and felde among theuues. [So 1535 in Coverdale; 1611 in A.V.] 1586A. Day Eng. Secretary ii. (1625) 39, I sithence fell into company. 1611Shakes. Cymb. iii. vi. 76 Be sprightly, for you fall 'mongst Friends. 1634Sir T. Herbert Trav. (1638) 84 [He] falls among five hundred light horse of Curroons and perishes. 1879M. E. Braddon Clov. Foot xxvi, I fell among thieves, and got cleaned out. 1879M. J. Guest Lect. Hist. Eng. xxx. 296 The mixed company he falls into.
b. To happen, or be thrown † into, on, or upon (a period of specified character).
1633Bp. Hall Hard Texts 370 Ye are now fallen into a time wherein there is much opposition to Christ. 1803Pic Nic No. 2 (1806) I. 56 You are fallen on such incorrigible times. 1844Disraeli Coningsby vi. ii. 226 The degenerate days on which he had fallen. 1888M. Arnold Ess. Crit. Ser. ii. iii. 91 Gray, a born poet, fell upon an age of prose.
36. To come naturally, without forcing or effort. lit. and fig. † to fall to oneself: to regain self-control. Obs.
c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 316 In þis maner þe boon schal falle into his joinct. 1517R. Torkington Pilgr. (1884) 22 We..fell to an Ankyr in the Rode. 1613Shakes. Hen. VIII, ii. i. 35 He..something spoke in choller, ill, and hasty; But he fell to himselfe againe. 1760–72tr. Juan & Ulloa's Voy. (ed. 3) II. 287 The ship will fall into her station without any difficulty. Mod. When the main features of your plan are settled, the details will fall into their places easily.
37. To be naturally divisible into.
1641Bp. Hall Rem. Wks. (1660) 66 The Text falls into these parts so naturally. 1862Temple Bar Mag. VI. 388 The subject..falls into four divisions. 1876F. G. Fleay Shaks. Manual ii. i. 128 The plays fall distinctly into four periods.
VII. To pass suddenly, accidentally, or in the course of events, into a certain condition.
38. a. Of persons: To pass (usually, with suddenness) † in, into, † to some specified condition, bodily or mental, or some external condition or relation.
a1225Ancr. R. 224 He..feol so into unhope. a1300Cursor M. 19084 (Cott.) For wonder sum þai fell in suim. Ibid. 20496 (Cott.) All þar fell to slepe onan. c1385Chaucer L.G.W. 590 Cleop., He was fallyn in prosperite. c1430Lydg. Bochas i. x. (1544) 21 a, The wretchednes that I am in fall. c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon xxii. 489 Yf thus he wylle doo I shall falle to peas. a1533Ld. Berners Huon li. 172, I am fallen in to pouerte and mysery. 1548Hall Chron. 14 The Abbot of Westminster..fell in a sodaine palsey. Ibid. 32 [He] fell in suche favour with the kyng. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 136 He fell to agreement with the French king. 1570–6Lambarde Peramb. Kent (1826) 211 Shee fell into the travaile of childe birthe. 1655Sir E. Nicholas in N. Papers (Camden) II. 298, I am fallen into an acquaintance with a most eminent Leueller. 1659B. Harris Parival's Iron Age 139 These two, being both Officers of the same Master, fell to difference. 1709Steele & Swift Tatler No. 68 ⁋3 Some..fall into Laughter out of a certain Benevolence in their Temper. 1711Addison Spect. No. 7 ⁋2, I fell into a profound Contemplation. 1751Jortin Serm. (1771) IV. i. 54 He fell into an agony at the thoughts of it. a1862Buckle Civiliz. (1873) III. iv. 192 The religious servitude into which the Scotch fell. 1879Geo. Eliot Coll. Breakf. P. 377 Fall to sleep In the deep bosom of the Unchangeable. 1879M. J. Guest Lect. Hist. Eng. xix. 186 Henry fell into one of his fearful rages.
b. to fall in love: to become enamoured. Const. with. Also transf. to become very fond of, or devoted to. (Cf. 40 c.)
1530Palsgr. 544/2, I shall fall in love with her. 1591Shakes. Two Gent. i. ii. 2 Would'st thou then counsaile me to fall in loue? 1659J. Moxon Tutor to Astron. 18 To make Men fall in love with Astronomy. 1768F. Burney Early Diary (1889) I. 25 A young lady of fashion..has fallen in love with my cousin. 1837Lytton E. Maltrav. 14 We must not fall in love with each other. 1866G. Macdonald Ann. Q. Neighb. i. (1878) 6, I would go and fall in love..with the country round about.
39. Of things, whether material or immaterial: To pass, lapse (usually, unperceived or by neglect) † in, into, † to some specified condition, esp. arrears, confusion, decay, ruin, etc. Cf. 26, 27.
c1340Cursor M. 9204 (Trin.) Þat kyngdome fel in to wrake. 1530Palsgr. 545/1 This castell falleth to ruynes euery day. 1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. i. (1586) 35 It flowreth in June and July, and then falleth to seede. 1579Fenton Guicciard. i. (1599) 8 If in this desire he had beene satisfied, the peace of Italy had not perhaps falne into so sodaine alteration and trouble. 1605Shakes. Macb. v. iii. 23 My way of life Is falne into the Seare, the yellow Leafe. 1720Ozell tr. Vertot's Rom. Rep. I. vii. 424 The Lex Licina fell at length into Contempt. 1761Hume Hist. Eng. III. liv. 167 He found everything fallen into such confusion. 1817W. Selwyn Law Nisi Prius (ed. 4) II. 1227 The form of declaring with a continuando has fallen into disuse. 1879M. J. Guest Lect. Hist. Eng. xxxi. 306 The tribute..had fallen into arrears. 1889A. V. Carr Marg. Maliphant II. xx. 103 The wane of the day had fallen into dusk.
40. With compl. (adj., n., or prepositional phrase): To become (whatever the complement signifies).
The compl. usually denotes either an unfavourable condition, or one that comes in the ordinary course of events.
a. with adj. as complement (e.g. ill, lame, sick, vacant, etc.). to fall due: see due.
1382Wyclif Gen. xxvi. 13 The man fel ryche. a1400–50Alexander 856 Philip falne [was] sare seke. 1530Palsgr. 545/1 My lorde entendeth to gyve him the nexte benyfyce that falleth voyde. a1533Ld. Berners Huon clxii. 629 heading, To fal aquaynted with the fayre damoysel. 1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1673) 241 The King fell exceeding angry. 1658A. Fox tr. Wurtz' Surg. ii. xi. 89 When a party is wounded in the Back..he fals lame. 1667Sir C. Lyttleton in Hatton Corr. (1878) 51 Falling very ill again..of feavor. 1751Smollett Per. Pic. vii, She fell sick of sorrow and mortification. 1820Southey Life Wesley II. 414 His horse fell lame. 1858Carlyle Fredk. Gt. (1865) I. iii. iii. 147 The Teutsch Ritters were fallen moneyless. 1879Froude Cæsar xviii. 303 All the offices fell vacant together. 1889A. Sergeant Luck of House I. ix. 129 Her tongue would fall silent.
b. with n. as compl. Now only in to fall heir.
1591–2Ld. Bacon Let. in Spedding Life & Lett. (1861) I. 116 His eldest son is fallen ward. 1606G. W[oodcocke] tr. Justin's Hist. 29 b, At last they fal friends out of a voluntarie consent. 1627–77Feltham Resolves i. xix. 35 'Tis gain..that makes man fall a Traitor. 1891Harper's Mag. Dec. 100/2 The elder..eventually fell heir to a certain estate.
†c. with prep. phr. as complement. Obs. exc. dial.
1508Barclay Shyp of Folys 14 They fall out of theyr mynde. 1530Palsgr. 544/1 He is fallen all on a sweate. 1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. i. (1586) 45 b, Hey..yf it be carryed into the Loft, rotteth, and the vapour being over⁓heated, falleth on fyre and burneth. 1578Lyte Dodoens iii. xxvi. 352 Them that waxe mad or fall beside themselves. 1631Weever Anc. Fun. Mon. 691 Leyland..fell besides his wits. 1813Picken Poems, Auld Joanna 43 Blear-e'ed Kate had fa'n wi' bairn. 1877E. Peacock N.W. Linc. Gloss., Fall wi' bairn, to become pregnant.
d. to fall to be: to come to be.
1548Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. John 42 Our mynde ought not so to be delited in the contemplacion of hye thynges that we fall to be careles of our common stocke. 1663Gerbier Counsel 44 The peeres of Brick or Stone between them [window-cases], will fall to be of a fit width. a1715Burnet Own Time (1766) I. 443 William fell to be in ill terms with his mother. 1887Stevenson Misadv. J. Nicholson iv. 6 The memory of his faults had already fallen to be one of those old aches.
41. a. Of a benefice or its revenues: To lapse, revert to the feudal superior. †b. Of an office, living, holding: To become vacant. Obs.
1530Palsgr. 544/1 So sone as thou cannest se any offyce fall, come aske it of the kynge. 1550Crowley Epigr. 948 Reuersions of fermes are bought long ere they fall. 1583Wills & Inv. N.C. (Surtees) II. 76 To remayne..in the manor house of Thirlwall, untill Newbiggen fall. 1665J. Webb Stone-Heng (1725) 119 He..returned into England when His Place fell. 1686R. Parr Life Ussher, He..obtained a grant of a patent..of such impropriations belonging to the Crown, as were then Leased out, as soon as they should fall. a1715Burnet Own Time II. 286 The Mastership of the temple was like to fall. 1796Jane Austen Pride & Prej. (1885) I. xvi. 68 When the living fell, it was given elsewhere. 1839Keightley Hist. Eng. II. 48 The revenues should fall to the crown. 1871Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) IV. xvii. 58 The new Minster was held to fall by the treason of its Abbot.
†42. To change, turn to, into (something worse). Obs.
1393Langl. P. Pl. C. xxi. 108 Ȝoure fraunchise þat freo was fallen is to þraldom. 1393Gower Conf. I. 7 Love is falle into discorde. Ibid. III. 275 Which..From aungels into fendes felle. 1426Audelay Poems 12 Ale the wyt of this word fallus to foly. 1586A. Day Eng. Secretary ii. 18 Your writing..falleth otherwise to a manner of reproaching.
†43. Of the weather: To turn out, prove to be.
1633G. Herbert Temple, Complaining ii, A silly flie, That live or die According as the weather falls.
VIII. To occur, come to pass, befall, result.
†44. To arrive in course of time. Cf. come v. 20.
1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 2616 In erthe sal duelle þe bodis alle, Until þat dredful day sal falle. 1340–70Alex. & Dind. 323 We mowe tellen our time whan þe time fallus. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 337 Two Honey Harvests fall in ev'ry Year.
45. Of a special day or season: To come or occur at a stated time, or within stated limits.
1297R. Glouc. (1724) 277 A Seyn Austynes day yt was, as yt valþ in May. a1300Cursor M. 17288 + 77 (Cott.) Þat friday was our leuedy day..But now ful selden fallez it soo. c1391Chaucer Astrol. ii. §12 The xiij day of March fil vp-on a Saterday. 1662Stillingfl. Orig. Sacr. i. i. §20 The 11 Generation after Moses, which will fall about the time of Samuel. 1694Holder Time viii. 101 The Vernal Equinox, which at the time of the Nicene Council fell upon the 21st of March, falls now above 10 days sooner. 1853Maurice Proph. & Kings xx. 352 The date..falling between the years 610 and 600 before Christ. 1889Repent. P. Wentworth III. iv. 44 Easter fell early that year.
46. Of an event, etc.: To come to pass; to happen, to occur. Obs. exc. poet.
a. simply; rarely with adj. as complement.
c1290S. Eng. Leg. I. 16/512 Mani miracle þar feol a-day. c1340Cursor M. 12284 (Trin.) Wherfore haue ye leten þis falle. 1382Wyclif Ecclus. xlviii. 29 He shewide thingus to come..er that thei fellen. c1450Lonelich Grail lvi. 64 A famyne that schold fallen in gret Bretaygne. 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. cxlvi. 174 Lykewise they woll deale with vs if the case fell lyke. a1547Surrey Aeneid ii. 897 A sodein monstrous marvel fell. 1633Bp. Hall Hard Texts 521 The death of this cruel Tyran..shall fall about two moneths after this later period. 1764Goldsm. Trav. 57 Oft a sigh prevails, and sorrows fall. 1823Longfellow Life (1891) I. iii. 33, I am rather sorry that the Exhibition falls so late in the year. 1878Tennyson Q. Mary v. i, If war should fall between yourself and France.
b. with dat. as indirect obj., or to, unto. Also with adj. as compl. Obs. exc. arch.
c1300Cursor M. App. ii. 706 Thei comen lepand þiderwarde, and þat hem fel swiþe harde. 1375Barbour Bruce ii. 45 Sa hard myscheiff hym fell. a1400–50Alexander 2722 Þe mare vnfryndschip þarfore fall sall þe neuire. c1450Merlin 10 It..neuer fill to woman saf oonly to me. a1533Ld. Berners Huon vii. 15 The peteous aduenture that fell..to the two chyldren. 1583Sempill Bp. of St. Androis in Ballates (1872) 218 A vengeance faa him. 18..Tennyson Grasshopper Poems (1830) 108 Shame fall 'em.
c. impers.; also quasi-impers. with subject clause. Now rare. Const. dat., rarely with adj. as compl. † him fell well: he prospered. † it falleth profit: it proves profitable. † may fall (in ME. = mayhap, perhaps): see may.
c1250Gen. & Ex. 1521 Niðede ðat folk him fel wel. c1340Cursor M. 11929 (Fairf.) Hhyt fille vpon an holiday..Ihesu and othir childryn in samyn went hem by the rever to gamyn. 1375Cantic. de Creatione 638 in Anglia I, By þe weye it fel hem hard: an addre to hem gan lepe. c1375Cato Major i. viii. in Anglia VII, Ofte falleþ þe wyf hit hateþ Þat loueþ þe goode hosebande. c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 431 It falleþ profyte to summe men to be bounde to a stake. a1400–50Alexander 2600 Þof us fall now to flee we may na ferryre wend. a1533Ld. Berners Huon lx. 210 So it fell that..kinge Charlemayn sent for hym. 1611Bible 2 Kings iv. 11 It fell on a day that hee came thither. 1868–70Morris Earthly Par. (1890) 387/2 As it fell..an elder 'gan to tell The story.
d. In phrases, fair fall, foul fall: may good or evil befall. Also, † fall what can, will, fall: happen what may; through thick and thin.
a1225Leg. Kath. 1376 O, leue feren, feire is us i-fallen. c1385Chaucer L.G.W. Prol. 277 My lady sovereyne..ys so good..I prey to God that ever falle hire faire. c1440York Myst. xvi. 50 Faire falle þe my faire sone. a1450Knt. de la Tour (1868) 37 Falle what wolle falle, y wol do more euelle. 1523Skelton Garl. Laurel 27 Fair fall that forster that so well can bate his hownde. 1631Massinger Emp. East ii. i, I will not come behind, Fall what can fall! 1651Baxter Inf. Bapt. 100 Fair fall to the Antinomians. a1775Hobie Noble i. in Child Ballads (1890) vii. clxxxix. 2/1 Foul fa the breast first treason bred in! 1787Burns To a Haggis i, Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face. 1860Martin Horace 218 Foul fall the day. 1884Cheshire Gloss. s.v., ‘Fair-faw Johnny; he's best lad o' th' two.’
47. To come in the course of events, or of orderly treatment. Const. with dat. inf. to fall to be, fall to be (spoken of, etc.).
1450–1530Myrr. our Ladye 34 The feaste of saynt Anyan fell to be the same tyme at Orleaunce. 1535in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. iii. I. 317 The same gentleman that toke hym may convaye hym to the forsaide place wher he shall faule to be upon monday next. 1634Sir T. Herbert Trav. 87 The Gardens fall in the next place, to bee spoken of. 1639R. Gentilis Servita's Inquis. (1676) 872 With ease they are made, because with ease they are revoked..as it falls to be most commodious for their businesses. a1715Burnet Own Time (1724) I. iii. 372 A Church falling to be given in that way, the electors had a mind to choose me. 1863Burton Bk. Hunter 310 Had it fallen to be edited by a philosophical enquirer. 1879Froude Cæsar vii. 62 The campaign of Sylla in the East does not fall to be described in this place. 1884Daily News 11 Feb. 5/5 The advance would fall to be made in the driest time.
†48.
a. To come as a consequence or result. Const. by, from, of, out of. Obs.
a1300Cursor M. 4520 (Cott.) Was þar nan emang ham all Cuth sai quat þar-of suld fall. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. vii. iii. (1495) 223 Of that ytchynge fallyth many scalles. c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 191 Icchinge & scabbe..falliþ ofte of salt metis. 1483Caxton G. de la Tour Cj, Yet shalle I saye..how it happed..and what fylle therof. a1533Ld. Berners Huon ii. 4 Wherby so many illes haue fallen. c1585R. Browne Answ. Cartwright 57 Other matters, which fall out of the former proofes. a1656Bp. Hall Soliloquies 35 What can fall from defective causes but imperfect effects?
†b. To turn to, result in; to turn out, result.
a1300Cursor M. 15420 (Cott.) To þaim þat þe cheping did, it fel to mikel vnspede. Ibid. 29058 (Cott.) Þat þi fast to saul fode mai falle. 1377Langl. P. Pl. xii. 47 Felyce hir fayrnesse; fel hir al to sklaundre. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvii. clxxxv. (1495) 727 Dronkenesse fallyth ofte in mannys slowthe and spouse brekynge. c1400Destr. Troy 8934 All oure fare & oure fortune hath fallyn to þe best. 1611Bible Ruth iii. 18 Sit still..vntill thou know how the matter will fall. 1699Bentley Phal. 211 Let the dispute about Comedy and Susarion fall as it will.
†c. fall of (after ‘what’): To happen to, to become of. Cf. become 4. Obs.
c1430Chev. Assigne 130 And askede hym, in good feythe what felle of þe chyldren. 1485Caxton Paris & V. 45 What shal falle of you my lady. 1525Ld. Berners Froiss. II. lxxviii. [lxxiv.] 234 No man knewe what sholde fal of theyr bodyes.
IX. Transitive senses.
* causative.
†49.
a. To let fall, drop; to shed (tears); to cast, shed (leaves); to bring down (a weapon, the hand, etc.). Obs. exc. in Bell-ringing (see quot. 1868).
1475Bk. Noblesse 66 It wolde make an harde hert man to falle the teris of his yen. 1594Shakes. Rich. III, v. iii. 135 To morrow in the battell..fall thy edgelesse Sword. 1598Sylvester Du Bartas ii. ii. ii. (1641) 120/2 A spark, that Shepheards Have faln..Among dry leaves. 1598R. Grenewey Tacitus' Ann. i. xii. (1622) 23 Arminius wife..not once falling a teare, nor crauing fauor. 1600Shakes. A.Y.L. iii. v. 5 The common executioner..Falls not the axe upon the humbled neck, But first begs pardon. 1610― Temp. ii. i. 296 Fall it [your hand] on Gonzalo. a1628F. Greville Poems, Cælica xxxvi, He had falne his Fathers Canne, All of Gold in the deepe. 1632Nabbes Covent Garden i. v, You've fallen my glove. 1665G. Havers P. della Valle's Trav. E. India 2 We cast Anchor without falling our sails. 1665–76Ray Flora 20 Shrubs which fall their leaves in the winter. 1808J. Barlow Columb. vii. 201 They..the sullen draw⁓bridge fall. 1868Denison Clocks & Watches (ed. 5) 415 In some parts of England they never raise and ‘fall’ the bells in order.
†b. fig. To ‘drop’, not to insist on. Obs.
a1700Dryden (J.), I am willing to fall this argument.
†c. To drop, give birth to (lambs, etc.). Obs.
1596Shakes. Merch. V. i. iii. 89 The..Ewes..did in eaning time Fall party-colour'd lambs. 1667Colepresse in Phil. Trans. II. 480 A White Lamb faln on a Common.
†50.
a. To let down, lower in position or direction. to fall one's crest: see crest. Obs.
1692Capt. Smith's Seaman's Gram. ii. xxii. 135 Causing a Matross to raise or fall the Gun with an Hank-spike. 1748Richardson Clarissa vi. V. 82 Half rearing the lids, to see who the next-comer was; and falling them again. 1795J. Phillips Hist. Inland Navig. 8 Method employed..to raise or fall vessels out of one Canal into another.
†b. To cause to settle or subside. Obs.
1789Trans. Soc. Enc. Arts II. 235 Throwing in a small quantity of oil to fall the froth.
†c. To lower (the voice), either in pitch or loudness. Obs.
1626Bacon Sylva §105 To raise or fall his Voice still by Half-Notes. 1748Dodsley Preceptor Introd. (1763) I. 44 Emphasis is raising the Voice, Cadence is falling it.
†d. To lower (a price, etc.); to bring down in value, depreciate; to depress (the market). Also, of land: To become worth less (rent). Obs.
1677A. Yarranton Eng. Improv. 149 The Lands fall Rents. 1691Locke Lower. Interest Wks. 1727 II. 8 You fall the Price of your Native Commodities. 1717Newton in Rigaud Corr. Sci. Men (1841) II. 425 In raising and falling the money, their King's edicts have sometimes varied a little. 1722Lett. from Mist's Wkly. Jrnl. II. 41 The turning of Money in Stocks; and raising and falling the Market. 1790Burke Fr. Rev. 282 He falls the value of his land and raises the value of assignats.
†51.
a. To bring or throw to the ground; to overthrow. lit. and fig. Obs.
c1300K. Alis. 7186 He hath take my castelis; He hath falle my torellis. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. iii. 43 Bere wel þin ernde..Concience to falle. c1420Sir Amadace (Camd.) xxxviii, God may bothe mon falle and rise. 1586A. Day Eng. Secretary ii. (1625) 78 By desire men are enflamed, by anger kindled, fallen by errour. a1625Boys Wks. (1629) 301 The serpent doth..bruise our heele and so fall vs.
b. Of a horse: To ‘throw’ (its rider). U.S.
The wk. conjugation indicates that this is taken as another word, f. fall n.
a1851W. Colton Ship & Shore viii. 139 The servant-boy..told how the animal had falled him three times.
c. To cut down (trees). Now dial., U.S., Austral., and N.Z.
c1386Chaucer Knt.'s T. 2930 The beestes and the briddes alle ffledden for fere, whan the wode was falle. c1420Pallad. on Husb. ii. 437 Nowe make is to falle in season best. 1523Fitzherb. Husb. §134 To fall the vnder wode. 1685Col. Rec. Pennsylv. I. 128 A Penalty to be laid upon such as Cutt or fall Marked..trees. 1805H. Repton Landscape Gard. 75 The most beautiful places may..be formed by falling..trees. 1860A. F. Ridgway Voices from Auckland 67 Large quantities of bush have this season been ‘fallen’. Ibid. 67 When to fall his bush? When to burn off? 1869J. May Guide to Farming in N.Z. 18 We had a dread of commencing to fall bush. 1875Parish Sussex Gloss. s.v., These trees are getting too thick, I shall fall a few of them next year. 1882W. D. Hay Brighter Britain I. vii. 186 In felling bush, or ‘falling’ it, as we say here, advantage is taken of the lay of the land. 1883E. Ingersoll in Harper's Mag. Jan. 201/1 We must fall a tree straight and true. 1891R. Wallace Rural Econ. Austral. & N.Z. xv. 231 In the case of bush country the trees require to be ‘fallen’, and the under-scrub cut. 1941Alley & Hall Farmer in N.Z. iv. 99 The bush was then felled, or ‘falled’.
†52. To throw, direct, cause to impinge (upon).
a1774Goldsmith Surv. Exp. Philos. (1776) II. 235 A number of plain glasses, united to fall their rays upon the same spot, would actually burn.
** not causative.
†53. = ‘To fall from’, ‘to fall down’. Obs.
c1450St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 5993 How a ȝonge man felle a tre. 1665Sir T. Herbert Trav. (1677) 201 If we miss One step, we headlong fall the precipice.
54. To have as one's share, come in for, obtain. Obs. exc. dial.[Derived from 31, by transposition of subject and object.] c1400Destr. Troy 2406 A mede..That ye faithfully shall falle. a1568A. Scott Poems (1820) 51 Feind a crum of the scho fawis. 1637–50Row Hist. Kirk (1842) 89 If a minister depart this life after Michaelmas, his executors shall fall that year's stipend. 1641Best Farm. Bks. (Surtees) 26 If they bee under five the procter falleth none..if there bee above five the procter falleth one. 1690W. Walker Idiomat. Anglo-Lat. 164 He heard that Dion had fallen a good estate. 1750Song, For a' that in Collect. Loyal Songs 43 The Whigs think a' that weal is won, But Faith they ma' na fa' that. [Cf. 1795 Burns For a' that iv, Guid faith he mauna fa' that.] 1889Manley & Corringham Gloss., Fall, to get, to receive.
X. With prep. (and prepositional phrases).
Besides the prepositions from, into, out of, to, which naturally follow fall, it is construed with a variety of others, for which see above: in the following combinations the sense is more or less specialized.
55. fall a ―. To set about, take to, begin (some action). Now only with vbl. ns. in -ing.
Cf. fall on (65 a), and a prep.1 13 b.
1576Fleming Panopl. Epist. 274 Democritus..fell a laughing at what so ever he sawe done. 1635Sibbes Soul's Confl. Pref. (1638) 11 Luther when he saw Melancthon..falls a chiding of him. a1644Chillingw. Serm. ii. (1664) 43 He is scarse a man..till he fall a work. 1749Fielding Tom Jones v. vi, Mr. Jones now fell a trembling as if he had been shaken with the fit of an ague. 1867Trollope Chron. Barset II. liii. 101 She reined in her horse and fell a-weeping.
56. fall across ―. To come upon by chance, meet with.
1886‘Hugh Conway’ Living or Dead v, I happened to fall across Estmere..in the park.
57. fall at ―.
†a. To be drawn or pass suddenly into (debate, strife, etc.). to fall at square: see square. Obs.
c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) xv. 69 Thurgh drunkenness þai fall at grete wordes. 15252 Proph. St. Eng. in Furniv. Ballads from MSS. I. 306 Fflaunders and England shall fall at decensyoun. 1648Herrick Bag of Bee i, Two Cupids fell at odds.
†b. fall at hand. To be near at hand, to be going to happen. Obs.
1529More Comf. agst. Trib. i. Wks. 1139/1 Greate perilles appeare here to fall at hande.
58. fall behind ―. To drop into the rear of, be outstripped or left behind by.
1856Titan Mag. Nov. 443/1 A man who has fallen behind his age. 1890T. F. Tout Hist. Eng. from 1689. 12 Dutch commerce was now falling behind that of England.
59. fall down ―.
a. See down prep.
1712Berkeley Pass. Obed. §27 Suppose a prince..to fall down a precipice.
b. To descend or drop down (a river, etc.).
1699W. Dampier Voy. II. i. 103 We fell down from Hean to our Ships. 1761–2Hume Hist. Eng. (1806) V. lxxi. 296 The army quickly fell down the rivers and canals from Nimeguen. 1790Beatson Nav. & Mil. Mem. 310 They fell down the river, till they came up to the 7 Dutch Ships.
60. fall for ―. To be captivated or carried away by; to yield to the attractions of; (in a bad sense) to be taken in by. slang (orig. U.S.).
1903R. L. McCardell Conversat. Chorus Girl 28 The mayor fell for it. 1911L. J. Vance Cynthia xi. 179 There's only one sensible thing... And I think I see you falling for it. 1914Sat. Even. Post 23 May 62/3, I fell for her the first time I seen her. 1916H. L. Wilson Somewhere in Red Gap v. 186 Even Mis' Judge Ballard fell for it, though hers were made of severe black with a long coat. 1917A. G. Empey From Fire Step xxii. 152 When firing my gun, I was to play my tune, and Fritz, no doubt, would fall for it, try to imitate me as an added insult. 1924R. Macaulay Orphan Island xix. 250 European critics, for ever falling for new things, would fall most certainly for this. 1926Galsworthy Silver Spoon ii. viii, ‘He's fallen for Marjorie Ferrar.’ ‘‘Fallen for her’?’ said Soames. ‘What an expression!’ ‘Yes, dear; it's American.’ 1929J. J. Farjeon Underground xxi. 139, I held out my pocket-case, and said I'd found it on the floor of the hotel. ‘Is it yours?’ I asked. To my surprise, he fell for it beautifully. 1952L. A. G. Strong Darling Tom xvii. 138 So he had fallen for it, had he, the big sap? 1958Times Lit. Suppl. 12 Sept. 509/4 He meets and falls for a twenty-year-old dipsomaniac.
61. fall from ―.
a. See simple senses.
†b. To drop off in opinion from; to disagree with.
c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 342 We mai see..how þes popis fallen fro Petir, and myche more þei fallen fro Crist. 1646Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. i. vii. 27 Galen..in some things hath fallen from him [Hippocrates].
c. To drop away from, forsake, revolt against; to renounce one's allegiance to, or connexion with.
1535Coverdale Jer. lii. 3 Sedechias fel from the kynge of Babilon. 1548Hall Chron. 148 b, After this spousage, the Kynges frendes fell from hym. 1548–9(Mar.) Bk. Com. Prayer Offices 24 Suffre vs not..to fal from thee. 1595Shakes. John iii. i. 320 England, I will fall from thee. 1649Bp. Reynolds Hosea i. 37 Achitophel, a man of great wisdome fals from David. 1872C. E. Maurice Stephen Langton iv. 254 The followers of Louis were falling from him.
†d. To drop out of, give up (a practice or purpose); to depart from, break (a commandment).
1513More in Grafton Chron. II. 769 Theeves..never fall from their craft, after they once fall thereunto. 1535Coverdale Judg. ii. 19 They wolde not fall from their purposes. 1542–5Brinklow Lament. (1874) 85, I exhorte yow..to..fall from your accustomed ydolatry. 1811Chalmers Let. in Life & Lett. (1851) I. 243 In the..life of every individual..this commandment is fallen from.
e. = fall off (see 92 d) from.
1600E. Blount tr. Conestaggio 290 The French admirall..being ill intreated in this cruell fight, fell from the gallion Saint Mathew.
62. fall in (= into) ―.
†a. To come upon by chance, light upon. Obs.
1377Langl. P. Pl. B iv. 156, ‘I falle in floreines’, quad þat freke.
b. = fall into 63 d.
c1386Chaucer Frankl. T. 236 They fille in speche. a1450Knt. de la Tour (1868) 26 As thei felle in talkinge..one of hem saide. 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. cxlix. 177 He fyll in seruyce with a man of armes. 1530Palsgr. 544/2, I fall in aquoyntaunce with hym. 1632J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 81 She feared..to..fall in conference with him.
c. to fall in hand to or with: to set oneself to (an action), set upon (a person). See hand.
63. fall into ―.
†a. To come into, by chance or otherwise; to drop into. to fall again into: to get back into, be restored to. Obs.
1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. clxix. 207 He fell agayne into the princes love. 1698Froger Voy. 39 We durst not fall into the Bay till break of Day. 1709Steele Tatler No. 83 ⁋1, I happened this Evening to fall into a Coffee-house near the 'Change. 1745P. Thomas Jrnl. Anson's Voy. 108 They fell into the Harbour unknown to themselves and by mere Chance, the 16th Day.
†b. To make a hostile descent or inroad upon. Obs.
1665Sir T. Herbert Trav. (1677) 244 Some Pioneers Inhabitants of Coon-sha..fell into his naked quarter. 1684Scanderbeg Rediv. iv. 62 The Tartars of Dialogrod falling into the Ukrain. a1715Burnet Own Time (1823) I. 344 Ready either to invade them, or to fall into Flanders.
c. To take (one's place), take one's place in (the ranks, etc.). lit. and fig.
1632J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 145 Two hundred of them falling into a close order, interposed themselves. 1888W. J. Knox-Little Child of Stafferton iv. 49 In a moment they all fell into their places. 1889Times (weekly ed.) 13 Dec. 3/3 Negotiations were opened with the lightermen..in the hope of getting them to ‘fall into line’ with those unions. 1890S. Lane-Poole Barbary Corsairs i. xiv. 174 The Christian fleet was slower in falling into line.
d. To engage in, enter upon (esp. talk); to begin the discussion of (a subject). Also, to become the subject of (discourse).
c1475Rauf Coilȝear 90 Into sic talk fell thay. 1590Sir J. Smyth Disc. Weapons *3 They fall into argument of some such matters. 1666Pepys Diary 14 Aug., We..fell into dancing. 1673Temple Ess. Ireland Wks. 1731 I. 109, I know not what it was that fell into Discourse t'other Day. 1711Addison Spect. No. 124 ⁋2 We must immediately fall into our Subject. 1851Dixon W. Penn xxv. (1872) 225 The merchants and craftsmen had fallen into their callings. 1889F. Pigot Strangest Journ. 163 One lady had fallen into conversation with them.
†e. To come within (the range of); to be taken in or grasped by. Obs. rare.
1586A. Day Eng. Secretary ii. (1625) 16 He fell into your notice. 1613Shakes. Hen. VIII, iii. ii. 340 Those things you haue done..Fall into' th' compasse of a Premunire. 1712Addison Spect. No. 415 ⁋10 The intire Concavity [of the dome] falls into your Eye at once.
f. To come under, be included among.
1586A. Day Eng. Secretary i. 90 They [letters]..doe for the most part, fall into the..Defensorie or Excusatorie kinde. 1967E. Short Embroidery & Fabric Collage iii. 81 Curtains similarly fall into two main categories, namely opaque and transparent.
g. To comply or take up with, accommodate oneself to. Also, to have recourse to.
1714–5Atterbury Serm. 13 Mar., We fall into all his Commands and Directions. 1788Priestley Lect. Hist. v. lii. 404 The generality of nations have fallen into the method of stamping them. 1790F. Burney Diary June, We fell immediately into our usual Windsor life. 1890T. F. Tout Hist. Eng. from 1689, 128 The ignorant masses fell blindly into the plans of the United Irishmen.
h. To get or drop into (a habit, etc.).
1886A. Sergeant No Saint I. vii. 141 He had fallen into a trick of walking with bent head.
64. to fall off ―.
a. Of an animal: To lose appetite for (food); to refuse.
b. Of a vessel: To deviate from (her course). Cf. 92 c, g.
1745Mortimer in Phil. Trans. XLIII. 553 As soon as a Cow falls off her Meat, give her another Dose. 1839T. Beale Sperm Whale 316 [He] called out..for the helmsman to..allow the ship to fall off her course.
65. fall on ―.
†a. To pass suddenly or break out into, set about (an action or state). Obs.
a1300Cursor M. 14008 (Cott.) Sco fell on suilk a grete, þat al sco was vr lauerd fete. 1513More in Grafton Chron. II. 763 Thus should all the realme fall on a roare. 1632Lithgow Trav. vi. 262 The fellow fell on trembling. 1670Narborough Jrnl. in Acc. Sev. Late Voy. i. (1711) 52 We fall on fitting of our Rigging and getting the Ship fit. 1737Whiston Josephus' Antiq. vi. vi. §3 If any one..fell on eating..he should be accursed.
b. Mil. To make a hostile descent or attack upon, join battle with; to rush upon, assault. (With indirect passive.)
c1400Destr. Troy 10515 Ffallys on hym fuersly, frap hym to dethe. 1548Hall Chron. 214 b, He feared lest the..commen people..would fall on hym, as one that fled away. 1667Evelyn Mem. (1857) I. 26 The Dutch..were fallen on our fleet at Chatham. a1715Burnet Own Time (1823) I. 533 No merchants' ships should be..fallen on, till six months after a declaration of war. 1864Burton Scot Abr. I. ii. 61 Stewart..fell on the episcopal city of Elgin.
transf. and fig.1662J. Davies Voy. Ambass. 419 When the Ambassador..was pleas'd to fall on any with his ordinary Language. 1667Pepys Diary (1877) V. 179 The Parliament..are likely to fall heavy on the business. 1711Steele Spect. No. 260 ⁋1 You cannot fall on a better Subject. a1715Burnet Own Time II. 38 The house of Commons were resolved to fall on all the ministry. 1827O. W. Roberts Centr. Amer. 126 A heavy sea falls on the coast. 1840Barham Ingol. Leg., Bagman's Dog, He..fell tooth and nail on the soup and the bouilli. 1848Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 194 They fell on him [Clarendon] as furiously as their predecessors had fallen on Strafford.
c. To come across, light upon; † to hit upon (an expedient). (With indirect passive.)
1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, v. iv. 34 Seeing thou fall'st on me so luckily. 1652Sir C. Cotterell tr. Cassandra ii. 107 At first he fell not on the thought of what it was. 1761–2Hume Hist. Eng. (1806) V. lxix. 199 A strange expedient was fallen on to supply this deficiency. 1790Beatson Nav. & Mil. Mem. I. 96 They fell on means to heave her round. 1890R. M. Kettle Old Hall i. vi. 51 They had fallen on a theme it would be unwise to pursue.
d. To have recourse to; to make use of.
1654Whitlock Zootomia 142 Presently they fall on that common place, how much mischiefe it [learning] may do without Grace. a1715Burnet Own Time (1823) I. 452 They fell on propositions of a strange nature to ruin them. 1885Stevenson Dynamiter 175 Sir George..fell on some expressions which I still remember.
e. To drop back to, resume (a position).
1809Roland Fencing 140 After which fall on the position of the guard.
f. quasi-impers. with it introducing infinitive clause: To occur to, befall (a person). rare.
1842J. H. Newman Par. Serm. VI. viii. 108 Some persons recollect a time..when it fell on them to reflect what they were.
g. to fall on board: see simple senses and board n. 12 e. Cf. 73 a.
1805Log in Nicolas Disp. Nelson VII. 207 note, The Royal Sovereign fell on board of our starboard beam.
h. to fall on one's feet: fig. to fare fortunately, be well provided for.
1857Trollope Barchester T. III. xvii. 298 It is well known that the family of the Slopes never starve: they always fall on their feet, like cats. 1886Warner Their Pilgrimage (1888) 6 Mr. King..was put in good humor by falling on his feet, as it were, in such agreeable company.
†i. to fall on shore: to run aground. Obs.
1590Marlowe Edw. II, iv. vi, With sore tempests driven, To fall on shore.
† to fall on sleep: see asleep.
66. fall through ―. To make a ‘mess’ of. Sc.
1825Jamieson s.v., By her foolish airs, she's fa'n through her marriage. 1826Hogg Meg o' Marley, The minister's fa'en through the text An' Meg gets a' the blame o't.
67. fall to ―.
†a. To be drawn by feeling to; to attach oneself to, become a follower of; also, to make one's peace with. Obs.
a1300Cursor M. 15131 (Gött.) We se þe folk alle fall till him. 1557K. Arthur i. xviii, To them fell kynge Ryence of North Wales. 1611Bible 1 Chron. xii. 19 There fell some of Manasseh to David, when he came..against Saul to battle.
†b. To get upon (the scent); to get the scent of, track. Obs. rare.
c1340Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1425 Þe howndez..fellen..fast to þe fuyt. c1420Anturs of Arth. i, Thay hom dyȝt into the depe dellus, Fellun to tho femalus.
†c. To agree with, accede to (a proposal, etc.).
1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. clxi. 195, I wold gladly fall to any reasonable way. 1548Hall Chron. 214 b, The citiezens..fell to this pact. 1683Penn in R. Burton Eng. Emp. Amer. vii, He fell to the Bounds of the Land they had agreed to dispose of, and the Price.
d. To apply or betake oneself to; to have recourse to; to take to; to begin, proceed to. With n., inf., or gerund. Also in fall to it: set to work, bestir yourself.
c1380Sir Ferumb. 647 Tel þou me..al þe soþe as þow art gent & free, & suþþe schalle we to-gadre boþe falle to fiȝte a-ȝe. a1400–50Alexander 4587 A wolfe..Quen he has faute of his flesch he fallis to þe soile! 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 35 b, Fall to prayer and make thy peticyon to God. a1568R. Ascham Scholem. i. (Arb.) 32 Then will he sonest faul to beate his scholers. 1600E. Blount tr. Conestaggio 14 Growing to more yeeres, they fell to distrust him. 1610Shakes. Temp. i. i. 3 Speake to th' Mariners: fall too't, yarely, or we run our selues a ground. 1644Sir H. Slingsby Diary (1836) 112 In Marston corn feilds [the Parliamentary army] falls to singing psalms. 1707Lond. Gaz. No. 4329/5 They fell to their Oars. 1727Swift Lett. Eng. Tongue 18 That Licentiousness which..fell to corrupt our Language. 1853Lytton My Novel iv. xi. 187 He fell to patting the mare with great unction. 1865Kingsley Herew. I. x. 236 He was healed instantly, and fell to religion.
e. † to fall to (food): to begin eating (it). to fall to work: to begin working.
a1400Sir Perc. 1326 Thay felle to thaire fude. 1551Crowley Pleas. & Pain 495 Fall nowe to worke for your lyueynge. 1699W. Dampier Voy. II. i. 52 When this is done they fall to their Meat. I saw one of these Grave-Feasts. 1719De Foe Crusoe (1840) I. xiv. 243 He fell to work. 1817Cobbett Taking Leave col. 25 The Grazier then fell to work with his stick in such a style as I never before witnessed. 1861Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. iii. (1889) 22 The four fell to work upon the breakfast.
68. fall under ―.
†a. To throw oneself at the feet of. Obs.
a1300Cursor M. 12475 (Gött.) Honurand him he fel him vnder.
b. To come or be classed under, be included in.
c1460Fortescue Abs. & Lim. Mon. vii, Riche furres, oþer than be wonned to fall vnder..þe yerely charges off his warderobes. 1818Cruise Digest (ed. 2) II. 281 The present limitation..does not fall under either of these heads. c1865J. Wylde in Circ. Sc. I. 5 Electrotyping and Gilding..fall under this section. 1870Max Müller Sc. Relig. (1873) 357 Being signs they fall under the category of language.
c. To be brought under the operation or scope of, be subjected to.
1576Fleming Panopl. Epist. 307 Them, that..passe over what soever falleth under their fingers. 1605Bacon Adv. Learn. i. iv. §1 To speak unto such as do fall under or near unto a popular observation. 1654Whitlock Zootomia 222 Their modus operandi..doth not fall under Demonstration. 1711Addison Spect. No. 44 ⁋5 Absurdities..as ridiculous as that which falls under our present Censure. 1824Medwin Convers. Byron (1832) II. 109 His ‘Revolt of Islam’..fell under the lash of ‘the Quarterly’. 1839G. Bird Nat. Phil. Introd. 35 These..states of matter will fall under our observation.
69. fall unto ―. = fall to, in various senses.
1535Coverdale 1 Chron. xii. 19 Of Manasses there fell certain vnto Dauid. 1587Turberv. Trag. T. (1837) 134 The Lady, somewhat hungrie, fell unto the Cates. 1611Bible 2 Kings vii. 4 Let vs fall vnto the host of the Syrians.
70. fall upon ― .
†a. = fall on 65 a.
a1300Cursor M. 15580 (Cott.) Alle þe apostels þan bi-gan to fal a-pon a gret.
b. = fall on 65 b.
1480Caxton Chron. Eng. ccxxvi. 231 Kyng edward..fyll vpon phelip of valoys. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 148 Sir Edward..fell sodeinly upon the hoste of..Sir Simond. 1671Narborough Jrnl. in Acc. Sev. Late Voy. i. (1711) 132 The Commander..began to fear, lest they might be fallen upon. 1698Froger Voy. 33 This Bird..pearches upon some Tree..waiting till the Fish swim even with the Surface of the Water, to fall upon them. 1749Fielding Tom Jones xvi. ii, He hath fallen upon me with that stick. 1844H. H. Wilson Brit. India II. 106 Some of the principal Omras urged the Nizam to fall upon the Residency.
transf. and fig.1709Hearne Collect. 13 Apr., The Dr. has..fallen upon Gronovius..But he was provok'd to it by Gronovius's first falling upon him. 1749Fielding Tom Jones xvi. iv, When I expected you would have commended me for all I have done, to be fallen upon in this manner. 1840Dickens Old C. Shop x, Kit..falling upon a great piece of bread and meat. 1857Livingstone Trav. xv. 278 Manenko fell upon our friends..she is a most accomplished scold.
c. = fall on 65 c.
1632Lithgow Trav. iv. 137 At last we fell vpon a Dalmatian widdow, whose pittifull lookes..stroke my soule. 1747in Col. Rec. Pennsylv. V. 99 Some Method should be fall'n upon to prevent the Evils which threaten Us. 1777Pringle Telescopes 9 By the force of his..genius he fell upon this new property of light. 1837W. Irving Capt. Bonneville II. 77 He..soon fell upon the track of Mr. Robert Campbell's party, which had preceded him by a day. 1862Ld. Brougham Brit. Const. xiii. 189 Edward III fell upon an expedient which gave very great satisfaction to all. 1874G. W. Dasent Tales from Fjeld 247 When he had walked a while, he fell upon an old wife.
†d. To begin upon, take up, set about. Obs.
1625Burges Pers. Tithes 2 My Purpose is not here to fall vpon that Question. 1649Bp. Hall Cases Consc. i. v. 43 Otherwise some Interloper may..fall upon the work at a lower rate, and undoe the first editor. 1701Swift Contests Nobles & Com. iii, These Persons..fell violently upon advancing the Power of the People. 1741Wesley Wks. (1872) I. 304 They immediately fell upon their favourite Subject.
e. To come (casually) to, take up with, adopt, have recourse to.
1633Bp. Hall Hard Texts 231 He that falls rashly upon his determinations..cannot but offend. 1654H. L'Estrange Chas. I (1655) 130 His Majesty fell upon Davids design..of numbering the People. 1858Sears Athan. iii. v. 297 The church..had fallen upon the belief that he [Christ] was soon to appear again.
f. Geom. Of a line, point, etc.: To have a place upon, cover, come exactly upon.
1570Billingsley Euclid i. viii. 18 The line FG may fall directly vpon the line DF. 1840Lardner Geom. 42 The vertex of the angle c′ must fall upon the vertex of the angle c.
†g. To come upon, become legally chargeable to (the parish). Obs.
1677A. Yarranton Eng. Improv. 150 Consider that Bank-Granaries..will be the occasion of taking infinite poor people off the Parish, and prevent others falling upon the Parish.
†h. = fall back upon.
1767S. Paterson Another Traveller! I. 218 Failing of an inscription, [he] may fall upon a derivative.
†71. fall with ―. To come upon in due course; to meet with. Chiefly Naut. To make (land). Obs.
1556W. Towrson in Hakluyt Voy. (1589) 112 The 12 of May we fell with the Isle of Lundy in the Channel of Bristoll. 1599Ibid. II. i. 258 The land is very high that we fall withall. 1632Sir R. Le Grys tr. Vell. Paterc. 1 Teucer..falling with [adpulsus] Cyprus, did build..Salamina. 1646J. Brinsley Araignm. Pres. Schism 1 Opening his Bible, he fell with that of the Psalmist. 1670–1Narborough Jrnl. in Acc. Sev. Late Voy. i. (1711) 124 Expecting to fall with Indians, for I saw many Fires up in the Land. Ibid. 125 This Morning..I fell with a fine Sandy Bay.
72. fall within ―. To come within the influence, operation, or scope of; to be included in.
1576Fleming Panopl. Epist. 228 Those things that..fall within the view of the sight. 1688Lett. conc. Present St. Italy 92 This was indeed a matter that could fall within the Popes understanding. 1771Junius Lett. xliv. 240 There may be instances..which do not fall within my own exceptions. 1806Med. Jrnl. XV. 561 This..work would not have fallen within the notice of our department, had it not been [etc.]. 1845M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 23 A charge..such..as should fall within this penalty. 1884G. Denman in Law Rep. 29 Chanc. Div. 466 Statements..made..so recklessly as to fall within the rule of fraud.
XI. With adverbs, forming the equivalent of compound vbs. in other langs.; e.g. to fall out = L. excĭdĕre, Ger. ausfallen.
(The phrases fall foul, fall short, are for convenience placed here, notwithstanding some uncertainty in the grammatical character of the adjuncts: see foul, short, adjs. and advs.)
73. fall aboard.
a. See aboard 2 d.
c1380Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 294 Men þat now dremen an accident wiþouten suget mai falle aborde wiþ þese foolis. 1769Falconer Dict. Marine s.v. Aboard, To fall Aboard of, to strike or encounter another ship, when one or both are in motion. 1791Hist. in Ann. Reg. 187 They fell aboard a Swedish line of battle ship.
†b. To make a beginning. Obs.
a1680Butler Cat & Puss Rem. (1759) I. 93 To lose no further Time, he fell aboard. a1700B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Fall-a-bord, fall on and Eat heartily.
74. fall about.
a. See simple senses and about adv.
1874L. B. Walford Mr. Smith vii. (1876) 74, I wish you would not go falling about that way.
†b. To search around, cast about. Obs.
1632Rutherford Lett. xxi. (1862) I. 86 It is high time we were..falling about to try what claim we haue to Christ.
c. slang. To laugh uncontrollably; to become helpless with laughter. Freq. with laughing.
1967Atlantic Monthly Apr. 108/2, I loped across the lawn imitating Myer Layevsky. I blinked an eye at the assembled company. ‘That's all the money you took in today?’ And they fell about. 1968Crescendo June 31/3 His witty announcing had the very receptive audience falling about. 1973Times 19 Jan. 14 The thought of producing a book in that time is enough to make us fall about. 1978Economist 17 June 94 Some fell about laughing. Others booed. Most were clearly alarmed. 1985A. Guinness Blessings in Disguise ii. 9 The audience fell about laughing but no laughter came from me. I was in love with her.
75. fall abreast of. See 36 and abreast 4.
1886Mrs. C. Praed Miss Jacobsen I. x. 205 The object of it..checked his horse and fell abreast of her.
†76. fall adown. See 1 and adown A. 1.
1297R. Glouc. (1724) 401 Þe on alf [of the body] vel adoun anon, þe oþer byleuede stylle In þe sadel. c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 277 Þe stoon falliþ adoun of þe reynes toward þe bladdre bi þe weie of þe urine. 1513Bradshaw St. Werburge i. 1302 His gloues..shortly to grounde falled adowne.
fall afire. See 40 c and afire.
†77. fall after. Of a dream: To come true.
c1400Rom. Rose 13 To wene that dremes after falle.
78. fall asleep. See 38 and asleep 2, 3.
1393Langl. P. Pl. C. xxii. 5 Ich fel eft-sones a slepe. 1553T. Wilson Rhet. ii. 75/1 We..fall a slepe, when we should moste harken. 1662J. Davies Voy. Ambass. 82 She..fell asleep. 1719De Foe Crusoe (1840) I. vi. 102 The fit wearing off, I fell asleep.
fall aslope. See 39 and aslope.
79. fall astern. See 36 and astern 3.
1669Sturmy Mariner's Mag. iv. 160 If you sail against a Current..Swifter than the Ship's way, you fall a Stern. 1776in Falconer Dict. Marine. 1833Marryat P. Simple l, The boat fell astern, leaving two Spaniards clinging to the side.
80. fall away.
a. See simple senses and away.
a1300Cursor M. 19691 (Cott.) Skales fell fra his eien a-wai. c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 179 If þou wolt kepe heeris þat þei schulen not falle awei. 1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb i. (1586) 39 Flowres..which falling away, leaveth behinde them little round knoppes. 1697W. Dampier Voy. (1698) I. 112 The top of it..gradually falls away on each side with a gentle descent. 1862Tyndall Mountaineer. ii. 14 Portions of snow had fallen away from the upper slope. 1889A. Conan Doyle Micah Clarke xxiii. 24 The breeze has fallen away to nothing.
†b. To cease to speak of a subject. Const. from.
c1374Chaucer Troylus iii. 1257 Lat us fal away fro this matere, For it suffiseth, this that seyde is here.
c. To withdraw one's support, draw off, desert, revolt. Const. from, to.
1535Coverdale 2 Chron. x. 19 Thus fell Israel awaie from the house of Dauid. 1611Bible 2 Kings xxv. 11 The fugitiues that fell away to the king of Babylon. 1889A. Conan Doyle Micah Clarke xxxiii. 362, I am surprised..that you should have fallen away from that allegiance.
d. With respect to religious belief or practice: To become a backslider; to apostatize (from).
1597Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. xlii. 84 Some fell..away..from soundnes of beliefe. 1611Bible Luke viii. 13 These..for a while beleeue, and in time of temptation fall away. 1751Wesley Wks. (1872) X. 285, I believe a saint may fall away. 1824Scott Redgauntlet xxi, ‘O Joshua..wilt thou thus fall away from the truth?’ 1867Freeman Norm. Conq. (1877) I. iv. 210 Large numbers of the Normans..fell away from Christianity.
†e. To lose flesh or substance; to shrink. Obs.
1530Palsgr. 544/1, I fall awaye, I wax leane of flesshe..Je descharne. a1680Butler Rem. (1759) II. 446 He delights, like a fat overgrown Man, to see himself fall away. 1770Gray Lett. Wks. 1884 III. 354 Mrs. Jonathan..is much fallen away.
f. To decay, pine away, perish, vanish.
1576Fleming Panopl. Epist. 223 All things..when they are at their ful ripenesse, then are they most fit to fall away and pearish. 1591Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, iii. i. 193 Till bones and flesh and sinewes fall away. 1611Bible 1 Macc. iv. 32 Cause the boldness of their strength to fall away. 1711Addison Spect. No. 111 ⁋5 How can it enter into the Thoughts of Man, that the Soul..shall fall away into nothing, almost as soon as it is created? 1827Longfellow Life (1891) I. viii. 106 The cottages [are] ruinous and falling away piecemeal. 1871R. Ellis Catullus li. 6 Within me Every lost sense falleth away for anguish.
81. fall back.
a. See simple senses and back.
1622Fletcher Beggar's Bush iii. iv, Can mens prayers..Fall back like lazy mists? 1676Walton's Angler i. xix, The..slime which that river leaves on the banks, when it falls back into its natural channel. 1696tr. Du Mont's Voy. Levant 176 A large piece of Felt..which falls back on their Shoulders. 1845H. Rogers Ess. (1860) I. 144 The Church would soon have fallen back..into its ancient corruptions.
b. To step back, give way. Of troops: To retreat, retire.
1607Tourneur Rev. Trag. ii. ii, Brother fall back And you shall learne some mischeife. 1612Drayton Poly-olb. xii. 204 Falling backe where they Might field-room find. 1676G. Etherege Man of Mode iii. i, Fall back on The sudden..and break out Into a loud laughter. 1781Hist Eur. in Ann. Reg. 16/1 That regiment being ordered to fall back on their approach. 1823Douglas, or Field of Otterburn III. iii. 36 His enemies..fell back to avoid his..thrusts.
fig.1714Addison Spect. No. 556 ⁋3 Nothing but an invincible Resolution..could have prevented me from falling back to my Monosyllables. 1879M. J. Guest Lect. Hist. Eng. xlvi. 464 They fell back a little, too, to favouring the celibacy of the clergy.
c. Of a coast-line: To recede.
1820Scoresby Acc. Arctic Reg. I. 224 The coast falls gradually back.
†d. To fall into arrear (in payments). Obs.
1786Burke W. Hastings Wks. 1842 II. 88 The..nabob..falling back in other payments in the same.. proportion.
82. fall back on, upon.
a. Mil. To retire to.
b. fig. To have recourse to (something) when other things fail.
1841Myers Cath. Th. 287 The internal Evidence of Christianity..on which we must fall back. 1862Trench Mirac. xxxiii. 456 A manual trade, on which to fall back in the time of need. 1864C. M. Yonge Trial II. v. 103 Her own fortune had always appeared to her something to fall back on in case of want of success. 1877C. M. Yonge Cameos Ser. iii. xxii. 205 The rebel army fell back..upon Linlithgow. 1889Jessopp Coming of Friars v. 254 Young men presumably with some private means to fall back upon.
83. fall behind, behindhand. See simple senses and behind, behindhand.
1530Palsgr. 543/2 He is fallen behynde the hande, within this thre yere. 1885Manch. Exam. 21 July 5/2 If the tenant falls behind with his instalments. 1887Visct. Bury & Hillier Cycling i. 40 After about twenty miles the horse slowly but surely falls behind.
†84. fall by.
a. To miss receiving something.
b. Sc. To be mislaid.
c. Sc. To be affected with any ailment, esp. to be confined in childbed (Jam.).
1614T. White Martyrd. St. George B ij b, His arme now thrusting forth..To latch the stripes for feare of falling by. 1640Rutherford Lett. ii. xxix. (1671) 491 Christ's papers of that kinde cannot be lost or fall by.
85. fall down.
a. See simple senses and down.
a1175Cott. Hom. 221 Swa michte æac þe oðre þe þer fellon don. c1250Gen. & Ex. 2734 Ȝet sal ðin pride fallen dun. 1382Wyclif Gen. iv. 5 Cayn was wrooth greetli, and his cheer felde doun. c1460Fortescue Abs. & Lim. Mon. xvi, The estate off þe Romans..be ganne to fall doune. 1513Douglas æneis ii. viii. 6 The ancyant worthy citie doun is fall. 1632Lithgow Trav. iii. 99 There fell downe a deadly storme, at the Grecoe Leuante. 1755Let. in Gentl. Mag. XXV. 564 At Algazaist several walls fell down. 1809Med. Jrnl. XXI. 474 When boiled..the black oxide of iron fell down in abundance. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 183 He is ready to fall down and worship them.
†b. To pass down, descend. Obs.
1632Lithgow Trav. vi. 294 Aduancing in our course, we fell downe from the hils in a long bottome.
c. Of a ship, etc.: To ‘drop down’ towards the sea. Also, † To sail to. Obs.
1598W. Phillips Linschoten in Arb. Garner III. 24 They fall down by means of the stream. 1685R. Burton Eng. Empire in Amer. xix. 194 Before he fell down to the Havana, he should touch at St. Christophers. 1754Fielding Voy. Lisbon Wks. 1882 VII. 34 He ordered his ship to fall down to Gravesend. 1867in Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. 1890Sat. Rev. 13 Dec. 687/2 They..fell down to Ameralikfjord.
†d. To make a hostile descent, swoop down.
17..Remarks Reign Will. III in Select. Harl. Misc. (1793) 490 If the troops of his most Christian majesty had fell down into the Spanish Netherlands.
†e. To take to one's bed; to sicken. Obs.
1757B. Franklin Lett. Wks. (1887) II. 522, I..got fresh cold and fell down again. 1772–84Cook Voy. (1790) III. 800 Our crew..began to fall down in fevers.
f. To ‘come to grief’, collapse, fail. Freq. with on. slang (orig. U.S.).
1873J. H. Beadle Undevel. West xxxii. 704 We'll reach Sioux City by 5 o'clock if we don't fall down... But we did ‘fall down’ just at noon, running hard aground. 1899J. L. Williams Stolen Story 223 It amazed him every time a new reporter..fell down on a story. 1928Publishers' Weekly 26 May 2175 We know of many cases where we fell down on buying books written by authors that had had successful books before. 1928Daily Tel. 14 Aug. 10/4 If we fall down on the job of absorbing these 10,000 men of good stock and stamina. 1953R. Lehmann Echoing Grove 300, I felt I couldn't cope: I saw myself falling down on the responsibilities. 1959Spectator 6 Feb. 181/2 The Congress party is falling down on the job of rallying public confidence in the present policies of the Government of India. 1961A. Christie Pale Horse x. 112 Oh dear, I seem to have fallen down badly. I was so very sure.
86. fall forth. = to fall out.
†a. To drop out (obs.)
†b. To happen, occur (obs.).
†c. To quarrel, fight (obs.).
1601Holland Pliny II. 138 The..teeth..will shed and fall forth of the head. 1604T. Wright Passions ii. i 52 Here it falleth foorth..hee which is most studious, is best learned. 1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts 464 The males often⁓times fall forth, for sometimes eight..males follow one lioness.
87. fall foul.
a. To come into collison. Chiefly of ships. Const. of, † on, upon, † with.
a1613Overbury Newes, Newes from Sea Wks. (1856) 181 A mans companions are (like ships) to be kept in distance, for falling foule one of another. 1678Phillips Tavernier's Trav. ii. i. 53 Both the Ships Company began to cry out, for fear of falling foul one upon another. 1745P. Thomas Jrnl. Anson's Voy. 284 The Prize..fell foul with her Head on our Starboard Quarter.
b. fig. To clash, come into conflict (with); to get into disputes; to quarrel.
1597Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, ii. iv. 183 Shall wee fall foule for Toyes? 1630M. Godwyn tr. Bp. Hereford's Ann. Eng. (1675) 37 Henry must of necessity fall foul with the Emperour. 1645Cromwell Let. 14 Sept. (Carlyle), To avoid confusion and falling foul one upon another. 1667Pepys Diary (1877) V. 156 We fell very foul. 1871R. H. Hutton Ess. (ed. 2) I. 80 So that we may not..fall foul of the forces..of that infinite world.
c. To make an attack. Const. of, on, upon.
1611Speed Hist. Gt. Brit. vii. xliv. 376 Yet fell they [the Danes] so foule vpon Essex..that the King was enforced to compound a peace. a1661Fuller Worthies (1840) III. 427 John Bale..falleth foul on all friars. 1700Dryden Fables Pref. Wks. (Globe) 505, I have fallen foul on priesthood. 1726Cavallier Mem. iv. 338, I fell foul upon them..and put them to flight. 1846Landor Imag. Conv. Wks. I. 116/2 You fall foul upon our miracles and our saints. 1885Manch. Exam. 13 July 5/2 The Duke then falls foul of Lord Rosebery for stating this fact.
88. fall in.
a. See simple senses and in.
1867Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. III. ii. 595 A fence..to prevent any person from falling in. 1887Stevenson Talk & Talkers ii. in Mem. & Portraits 177 He was all fallen away and fallen in; crooked and shrunken. Mod. Her eyes have fallen in.
b. Of a building, etc.: To drop to pieces towards the interior or inwardly. transf. Of a cliff: To drop in fragments into the sea.
1719De Foe Crusoe v. (1840) I. 94 Thinking that the top of my Cave was falling in. 1766Goldsm. Vic. W. xxii, Part after part [of the roof] continuing to fall in. 1810Shelley Zastrozzi i, Almost at the same instant the roof fell in. 1829Milman Hist. Jews xvi. (1878) 402 During the night, the wall suddenly fell in with a terrific noise. 1869Phillips Vesuv. iii. 68 The whole crater top fell in.
c. Of the mouth: To recede.
1704Lond. Gaz. No. 4031/4 His Mouth falls in.
†d. To make one's way in, accidentally or otherwise; to rush in with a hostile intention. transf. Of the sea. Also of a ship: To take a course (to land). Obs.
1382Wyclif Dan. xiii. 26 Forsothe seruauntes of the hous fellen yn by the posterne. 1535Coverdale 1 Sam. xxvii. 10 Achis spake: Whither fell ye in to daye? 1697W. Dampier Voy. (1698) I. 247 They..fell in among a company of Spanish soldiers..who immediately fired at them. 1715Lond. Gaz. No. 5374/1 A large Boat..fell in amongst them, and took one Boat. 1748Anson's Voy. ii. ii. 137 This ship..had fallen in to the northward of the Island. 1772–84Cook Voy. (1790) IV. 1268 These are covered by islands in the offing, so that no sea can fall in to hurt a ship.
†e. To strike in, interpose a plea. Obs. rare.
a1641Bp. R. Montagu Acts & Mon. iv. (1642) 291 Nicolaus..purposed to fall in for Herod in his plea against Syllæus.
f. To happen, occur, take place. Also to appear (in a narrative). Now rare.
1589Puttenham Eng. Poesie ii. (Arb.) 99 Continue on till an other like distance fall in. 1654H. L'Estrange Chas. I (1655) 75 What became of those Iesuites will fall in after⁓ward. a1715Burnet Own Time II. 163 An accident fell in..which took off much from Oates's credit. 1883Stevenson Treasure Isl. iv. xvii. (1886) 139 The report fell in at the same instant.
g. Mil. To get into line, take one's place in the ranks.
1750R. Paltock Peter Wilkins II. ix. 73 Nasgig..gave Orders for the whole Body..to fall in behind me. 1841Lever C. O'Malley lxv. 306 ‘Fall in, fall in there lads!’ resounded along the line.
transf.1815Chalmers Let. in Life (1851) II. 21 The ministers..must fall in at every procession.
h. trans. To form (troops) in line; to parade. Also, usu. as a command, get fell in.
1860Russell Diary India (7th thous.) II. 311, I fell them [Sepoys] in against the wall. 1888J. H. Parke in H. M. Stanley Darkest Africa (1890) I. xix. 464 Stanley fell in all the men. 1889Pall Mall G. 2 Apr. 3/2 The marines were fallen in for rifle drill. 1930E. Raymond Jesting Army iii. v. 327, I was standing with the crah'd watchin' the West Essex getting fell in. 1945C. H. Ward-Jackson Piece of Cake (ed. 2) 32 ‘Get fell in!’ Fall in! Common way for senior N.C.O.s to give the command. 1959N.Z. Listener 10 July 4/4 It was perfectly dreadful for instance to be fallen in—or as the Navy says, to ‘Get fell in’.
i. dial. To meet, become acquainted. Cf. 91 a.
1808R. Anderson Cumbld. Ball. (1819) 163 Fifty shwort years hae flown owre us, Sin' furst we fell in at the fair.
j. To agree. Of things: To fit in. Of persons: To concur in an arrangement.
1681H. More Exp. Dan. 130 So handsomely do all things fall in and agree together. 1890T. F. Tout Hist. Eng. from 1689, 300 In 1871 British Columbia..also fell in on condition of a railway being built to join them with the eastern colonies.
†k. To make up a quarrel, become reconciled. Obs. Cf. fall out.
1606Shakes. Tr. & Cr. iii. i. 112 Pand. Sheele none of him, they two are twaine. Hel. Falling in after falling out, may make them three. 1773Goldsm. Stoops to Conq. ii. i, They fall in and out ten times a day.
†l. To give way, yield. Obs. rare—1.
1667Pepys Diary 27 Nov., The King is now fallen in, and become a slave to the Duke of Buckingham.
m. To come to an end, terminate. Of a debt: To become due. Of a fund: To become available. Of land, houses, etc.: To come again into the owner's disposition at the end of a lease. Of a lease: To run out.
1796Morse Amer. Geog. II. 379, 600 millions of debt had fallen in. 1854Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XV. ii. 258 Colleges are..taking up their bad leases, and, when the lands fall in, will probably let them to respectable tenants. 1885Law Rep. 30 Chanc. Div. 18 The claim..would bind those assets when they fell in. 1887Besant Katharine Regina i, The inheritance fell in. 1891Pictorial World 7 Mar. 295/2 The leases of a rookery in Bermondsey fell in.
89. to fall in for. To come in for, get, incur.
1853Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XIV. ii. 465 Those pigs having flourished most which had fallen in for the lion's share. 1864Trollope Small House at Allington xvi, ‘I did not mean to fall in for this’ said Crosbie to himself.
90. to fall in upon. To come upon unexpectedly; to drop in upon or visit by chance.
1793E. Parsons Woman as she should be III. 99 His creditors all fell in upon him. 1888B. W. Richardson Son of a Star II. iii. 29 To fall in upon his generals and see the encampments suddenly and without notice..is the very thing that suits his versatile humour. 1890Century Mag. 128/1, I am always glad when any one falls in on me like you have to-night.
91. to fall in with.
a. To come upon by chance, light upon, meet with, get into company with. Also, † To arrive at (land).
1594Shakes. Rich. III, iii. v. 51 After he once fell in with Mistresse Shore. 1697W. Dampier Voy. (1698) I. 472 We fell in with a small woody Island. 1748Anson's Voy. i. vii. 71 We had great expectation of falling in with Pizarro's squadron. 1780Coxe Russ. Disc. 26 Possibly the time is not far distant when some of the Russian adventurers will fall in with that coast. 1795Hist. in Ann. Reg. 30 A Polish corps..fell in with the main body of the Russians. 1833H. Martineau Cinnamon & P. i. 5 They fell in with no other vessel till they came in sight of the shore. 1955Times 11 Aug. 9/5 Senhor Alberto de Lacerda is a Portuguese writer in his late twenties, who has had the good fortune to fall in with Mr. Arthur Waley.
b. To drop into the views of, agree with (a person); to make common cause or side with.
1642Fuller Holy & Prof. St. v. xiii. 409 He falls in with all his neighbours that fall out. 1708Swift Sacramental Test in Misc. (1711) 333 The Number of Profest Dissenters..was..something under a Dozen, and..Thirty others, who were expected to fall in with them. 1781Hist. Eur. in Ann. Reg. 144/1 Those under its influence continually fell in with..the French party.
c. To accede to or comply with (a proposal), join in (a project).
1711Addison Spect. No. 123 ⁋4 Leontine..was..prevailed upon to fall in with the Project. 1816Chalmers Let. in Life (1851) II. 31 Falling in with such arrangements..as your natural superiors expect you to concur in. 1879F. W. Robinson Coward Conscience iii. ix, Sir John did not fall in with this suggestion.
d. To harmonize with, suit, match. Of a point, period of time, etc.: To coincide with.
1662Stillingfl. Orig. Sacr. i. vi. §3 The reign of Adrastus at Sicyon falls in with that of Atreus and Thyestes at Argi or Mycenæ. 1712J. James tr. Le Blond's Gardening 100 The Track..of the circular Segments, with which the Tracing-Point ought to fall in exactly. 1728Newton Chronol. Amended vi. 354 His 20th year fell in with the 4th year of 83d Olympiad. 1759Robertson Hist. Scot. I. iii. 239 Nothing could fall in more perfectly with her views concerning Scottish affairs. 1867Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) I. App. 677 It falls in exactly with his conduct directly after.
e. To agree, concur with (an opinion, the opinion of); to conform to; to humour. Also, To unite, join with.
1699Bentley Phal. 200 With this opinion all those fall in, who assert that Comedy is more recent than Tragedy. 1705Berkeley Commonpl. Bk. Wks. IV. 459 Hobbs in some degree falls in with Locke. 1793Smeaton Edystone L. §127 Those..generally fall in with the popular opinion. 1860Trollope Framley P. i. 3 He fell in with the views of his patroness. 1863Mrs. C. Clarke Shaks. Char. iv. 101 How pleasantly he falls in with their several natures and qualities.
92. fall off.
a. See simple senses and off.
1490Caxton Eneydos xxxii. 121 The wax..beganne to melte and the feders to falle of. 1583Hollyband Campo di Fior 51 Put thy sacchell over thy arme, that it fall not of. 1611Bible Acts xii. 7 His chaines fell off from his hands. 1683Burnet tr. More's Utopia (1685) 165 Who does not see that the Frauds..would all fall off? 1803Pic Nic No. 1 (1806) I. 16 The mask of universal philanthropy has fallen off. 1850Tait's Mag. XVII. 422/1 The drunkards fell off asleep.
b. To drop off in position; to step aside or back, withdraw. Also fig. † To recall an offer.
1613Shakes. Hen. VIII, iv. i. 64 The..Lords, and Ladies, hauing brought the Queene To a prepar'd place..fell off A distance from her. 1636Massinger Bashf. Lover ii. ii, Sweet youth, fall off. 1649Bp. Hall Cases Consc. i. vi. 58 You have just reason..to fall off from the bargaine. 1710Steele Tatler No. 247 ⁋5 When you had consented to his Offer, if he fell off, you would call him a Cheat. 1838Dickens O. Twist lii, They fell off, one by one..the street was left to solitude.
c. Naut. Of a vessel: To fail to keep her head to the wind; to refuse to answer the helm. Rarely trans. To let (a vessel) veer from the wind.
1692in Capt. Smith's Seaman's Gram. i. xvi. 76 In keeping the Ship near the Wind, these terms are used..Fall not off, Veer no more, keep her to. 1699W. Dampier Voy. II. ii. 22 She would fall off 2 or 3 Points from the Wind. 1750in T. R. Blanckley Naval Expositor s.v. Fall. 1841 Dana Seaman's Manual xii. 74 Let her have a plenty of helm, to come to and fall off freely with the sea.
d. Naut. To separate, part company; to move away, deviate. Of a coast-line: To trend away.
1632J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 64 The Prince..fell off with a contrary wind to Fermentera. 1669Sturmy Mariner's Mag. i. 20 Starboard give not fire until he fall off. 1719De Foe Crusoe (1840) I. i. 14 The shore falls off to the westward towards Cromer. 1795Nelson in Nicolas Disp. II. 13 As the Ship fell off, [I] gave her our whole broadside. 1892Eng. Illustr. Mag. IX. 555 The vessel fell off from her course.
e. Of lovers or friends: To part company, become estranged, draw off. Of subjects: To revolt, withdraw from allegiance.
1513More Rich. III in Grafton Chron. II. 787 Whose hart she perceyved more fervently set then to fall of for a worde. 1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, i. iii. 93 Revolted Mortimer? He neuer did fall off. 1614Bp. Hall Recoll. Treat. 1046 Like as those which purposed love, when they fall off, call for their tokens backe againe. 1667Milton P.L. i. 30 What cause Mov'd our Grand Parents..to fall off From their Creator. 1711Addison Spect. No. 179 ⁋1 Were I always Grave, one half of my Readers would fall off from me. 1721De Foe Mem. Cavalier (1840) 131 The duke of Saxony fell off, and fought against them. 1888B. W. Richardson Son of a Star III. xiv. 254 He sees the..people falling off from the king.
f. To decrease in amount, intensity, or number; to diminish. Also of persons.
1605Shakes. Lear i. ii. 126 Loue cooles, friendship falls off, Brothers diuide. 1749F. Smith Voy. Disc. N.-W. Pass. II. 31 It was the Season of the Year for the Tides to fall off. 1827O. W. Roberts Centr. Amer. 271 Towards evening..the breeze began to fall off. 1833Macaulay Life & Lett. (1883) I. 304 The publishers..tell him that the sale is falling off. 1842L. Howard Cycle of Seasons 19 The rain now falls off again. 1890Longman's Mag. July 241 The demand for porcelain had much fallen off. 1914W. Owen Let. 14 Oct. (1967) 287 If pupils fall off I shall be obliged to pack off sooner!
g. To decline in health, vigour, interest, etc.; to degenerate. Said also of health, interest, etc.
1709Addison Tatler No. 148 ⁋2 Many great Families are insensibly fallen off from the Athletick Constitutions of their Progenitors. 1802T. Beddoes Hygëia vii. 38 The patient fell off in flesh. 1821Shelley Lett. fr. Italy 22 Oct., The ‘Jungfrau von Orleans’ of Schiller,—a fine play, if the fifth act did not fall off. 1848Dickens Dombey xxvii, ‘We have fallen off deplorably’, said Mr. Carker. 1890G. Gissing Emancipated II. i. xiii. 100 Her..health began to fall off.
93. fall on.
†a. See 1 f and on.
1535Coverdale Matt. xiv. 15 Y⊇ night falleth on.
b. To come with violence; to make an attack, join battle. (absol. of 65 b.)
1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) III. 59 Whan þe Sabynes fil on. a1400–50Alexander 2132 Þai fall on freschly þe folk of þe cite. 1613Shakes. Hen. VIII, v. iv. 57 They fell on, I made good my place. 1716Lond. Gaz. No. 5473/1 Flanginy fell on first with the St. Lawrence. 1855Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. 425 The English were impatient to fall on.
c. To set to work, begin, make a start. Now rare; cf. 100 c.
1677A. Yarranton Eng. Improv. 66 We came to an agreement. Upon which I fell on, and made it..Navigable from Sturbridge to Kederminster. a1680Butler Rem. (1759) VIII. 3 All stood ready to fall on. 1733Fielding Quix. in Eng. Ded., Wit, like hunger, will be with..difficulty restrained from falling on, where there is great plenty..of food. 1890W. Morris in Eng. Illustr. Mag. July 765 The squall falleth on when the sun hath arisen.
94. fall out.
a. intr. See simple senses and out.
1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. i. (1586) 39 The rootes standyng upwarde that the seede may fall out. 1658Willsford Natures Secrets 172 There fell out of the Air such multitudes of strange..flies. 1703W. Dampier Voy. III. 20 Tho' several of the Nails or Pegs of the Boat should by any shock fall out. 1772–84Cook Voy. (1790) IV. 1451 The morning flood falling out too early.
b. Mil. To drop out of one's place in the ranks; to drop behind a marching body. Also trans.
1832Regul. Instr. Cavalry iii. 60 The Farriers and Band fall out. 1844Regul. & Ord. Army 180 To bring up any Man who may have fallen out. 1890Standard 7 Aug. 5/7 Some of the men were obliged to fall out from fatigue. 1923Kipling Irish Guards in Gt. War I. 24 A newly appointed platoon-officer..fell them out. 1942E. Waugh Put out More Flags ii. 120 Companies paraded at quarter past eight; immediately after inspection men were fallen out for the company commanders' orderly room.
†c. Mil. To make a sally. Obs. rare—1.
1637Monro Expedition ii. 25 Major John Sinclaire..not having a hundred Musketiers within the Towne in all, neverthelesse fell out with fiftie..and skirmished bravely.
d. To disagree, quarrel.
1562J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 76 Whan theeues fall out, true men come to their goode. 1654Nicholas Papers (Camden) II. 61 The Bp. of Derry and Sr Rich. Grenville are fallen extremely out. 1783Cowper Lett. 2 Feb., Monarchs..fall out, and are reconciled just like the meanest of their subjects. 1879M. J. Guest Lect. Hist. Eng. xvii. 159 The king and the archbishop soon fell out.
e. fall out with: to quarrel with. Rarely in indirect pass.
1530Palsgr. 545/1 Fall nat out with your frendes for a thing of naught. 1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. 259 a, Pollio had aforetyme been angrye and foule out with Timagenes. a1659Osborn Luther Vind. (1673) 403 Falshood is fallen-out with for..Love of Truth. 1771Fletcher Checks Wks. 1795 II. 213 So preach that those who do not fall out with their sins may fall out with thee. 1859Thackeray Virgin. iv, So this good woman fell out with her neighbours.
f. To come by chance into existence. rare.
1856Mrs. Browning Aur. Leigh v. Poems 1890 VI. 213 If the Iliad fell out..By mere fortuitous concourse of old songs, Conclude as much too for the Universe.
g. To happen, chance, occur, arise, come to pass. Now chiefly quasi-impers. with subject clause. Also, to fall out to be.
1568Grafton Chron. II. 102 It must needes fall out, that he shall have the better. 1598R. Grenewey Tacitus' Ann. xii. x. (1622) 170 Vologeses thinking there had fell out iust occasion of inuading Armenia..assembleth his power. 1627Perrot Tithes 51 How often falls it out that a Parishioner..detaines some part or the whole of his tithe. 1650Baxter Saints' R. iii. (1654) 13 If anything fell out amiss. 1688Lett. conc. Present St. Italy 101 It fell out to be the year of Jubily, 1650. 1770Langhorne Plutarch (1879) I. 344/2 The death of this great mathematician fell out in the year of Rome 542. 1848Dickens Dombey vi, Thus it fell out that Biler..sought unfrequented paths.
h. To prove to be, turn out. Formerly with adj. as compl., or to be; now only with adverb of manner.
1570T. Wilson Demosthenes 4 marg., As things fall out, the common sort judge. 1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. i. (1586) 15 b, Such kinde of bargainyng..maketh his accomptes seeldome fall out just. 1614Bp. Hall Recoll. Treat. 71 God purposed it as it is fallen out. 1642Rogers Naaman 369 If there fall out to be any defect therein. 1669Sturmy Mariner's Mag. 115 If the Division doth fall out even, without any over-plus. 1705Stanhope Paraphr. I. 7 When Matters so fall out that we cannot attend to Mercy and Sacrifice both. 1879M. J. Guest Lect. Hist. Eng. xiv. 130 The chronicler tells how things fell out.
†i. to fall out in: to burst out in, to begin.
a1555Latimer Serm. & Rem. (1845) 97 Zachary..fell out in praising of God.
†j. to fall out upon: to result from. Obs.
1665J. Spencer Vulg. Prophecies 88 Fatal events have fallen out upon vain prophecies.
95. fall out of.
a. See simple senses and out.
c1340Cursor M. 12269 heading (Fairf.), Ihesus raisid a dede childe fallin out of a loft. c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 93 Þere schal falle out of him pecis gobetmele. 1563Fulke Meteors (1640) 68 b, Quicksilver hath divers times fallen out of the clouds. 1579Gosson Sch. Abuse (Arb.) 21 He fel out of heauen into Lemnos. 1856Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) I. i. 62 The people..were falling out of archery practice, ex⁓changing it for similar amusements. 1885Manch. Even. News 6 July 2/2 Land has fallen out of cultivation.
†b. To make a raid from. Obs. rare—1.
1535Coverdale 2 Kings v. 2 There had men of warre fallen out of Syria, and caried awaye a litle damsel.
c. Mil. (Cf. 94 b.)
1824Scott Redgauntlet xv, Do you fall out of the line, and wait here with me. 1859Jephson Brittany xiv. 234 The men piled arms and fell out of the ranks.
d. to fall out of lease: to cease to be held on lease.
1841Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. II. ii. 154 Farms which fell out of lease.
96. fall over.
a. See simple senses and over.
b. Sc. To go to sleep.
†c. To go over to (the enemy).
1595Shakes. John iii. i. 127 Dost thou now fall ouer to my foes? 1694Acc. Sev. Late Voy. ii. (1711) 32 The Waves..fall over with dashing and foaming. 1820Scoresby Acc. Arctic Reg. I. 466 The moment life is extinct, it [a whale] always falls over on its side. 1823Lockhart Reg. Dalton ii. v, Ellen Hesketh..wakened me—I had just fallen over.
d. to fall over oneself: (a) see quot. 1895; (b) to show great eagerness (freq. to do something), to be desperately anxious to. colloq.
1895W. C. Gore in Inlander Dec. 113 Fall all over one's self, to get confused. 1904Brooklyn Standard Union 2 Aug. 6 The bonafide independent element is not falling over itself to come to Parker's assistance. 1923R. D. Paine Comr. Rolling Ocean 130 The thirsty outlaws fall over themselves to hand you ten or twelve dollars a quart for it. 1935Forres Gaz. 30 Oct. 4/7 In your haste to ‘fix up’ a piece of business, have you ever ‘fallen over yourself’? 1947K. Tennant Lost Haven iii. 48 Why was it that..these rich coots with tons of money nearly fell over themselves grabbing at anything they could get free? 1957Ess. in Criticism VII. 159 [A review] which, though it falls over itself at the end to be as nice as possible, [etc.].
e. to fall over backwards = to bend over backwards (backwards adv. A).
1958B. Nichols Sweet & Twenties xi. 135 Even nice old ladies..fell over backwards in their efforts to stop the menace of the encroaching scissors. 1958Listener 20 Nov. 848/1 There was a certain complacency, a falling over backwards to be fair. 1966Ibid. 11 Aug. 190/1 In the system of trial is it correct to say, as many people say, that we fall over backwards to protect the guilty?
97. fall short.
a. Of supplies: To give out, fail, become insufficient.
1694Acc. Sev. Late Voy. ii. (1711) 106 Their [foxes'] Food falls but short there. 1748Anson's Voy. ii. ii. 137 Apprehensions of our provisions falling short.
b. Of a shot, etc.: Not to reach the mark aimed at.
1793Hoste in Nicolas Disp. Nelson I. 329 note, The Fort fired at us, but their balls fell short. 1848J. Grant Adv. of Aide-de-C. xxxi, The bombs fell short.
†c. ellipt. for fall short of finding: to miss.
1688Bunyan Heavenly Footman (1886) 171 Be sure thou wilt fall short the way at last.
98. fall short of.
a. To fail to reach or obtain (an object, wages, etc.); to fail in performing (one's duty).
1590Sir J. Smyth Disc. Weapons 21 b, The matches..fall..short of the pannes and powder. 1629tr. Herodian (1635) 111 The souldiers falling short of their hopes were extremely offended. 1793Smeaton Edystone L. §101 The workmen should on no occasion fall short of the common wages of the country. 1890H. S. Merriman Suspense II. v. 114 He fell lamentably short of his duty.
b. To fail of attaining to (a certain amount, degree, level, or standard); not to reach the same amount, etc. as. Also † to fall short to.
1596Spenser F.Q. vi. iii. 5 They fall too short of our fraile reckonings. 1630R. Johnson's Kingd. & Commw. 88 They..will fall short to our expectation. 1662Stillingfl. Orig. Sacr. ii. iv. §1 The other Prophets fell so much short of Moses. 1697W. Dampier Voy. (1698) I. 202 They fell short of the number they told us of. 1711Addison Spect. No. 61 ⁋5 Though they excel later Writers in Greatness of Genius, they fall short of them in Accuracy. 1746Hervey Medit. (1818) 113 A felicity that never falls short of the very perfection of elegance. 1845McCulloch Taxation iii. iii. (1852) 467 The income..fell greatly short of the expenditure.
99. fall through. To break down, come to nought, fail, miscarry. † Rarely of persons.
1781G. R. Clark in Sparks Corr. Amer. Rev. (1853) III. 324 Should we fall through in our present plans..the Consequences will be fatal. 1879C. M. Yonge Cameos Ser. iv. ix. 106 The charge seems to have fallen through. 1884Manch. Exam. 22 May 5/1 The proposed amalgamation..fell through.
100. fall to. †a. Analytical form of ME. to-fallen to happen, occur. Obs.
c1400Destr. Troy 2719 No man..ferd is of fortune till it falle to.
b. Of a gate, etc.: To shut automatically.
1889‘M. Maartens’ Sin of J. Avelingh I. i. x. 130 The oaken door fell to behind them.
c. To set to work, make a beginning; esp. to begin eating; also, to come to blows. (Cf. 67 d, e.)
1593Shakes. Rich. II, v. v. 98 My Lord, wilt please you to fall too? 1677A. Yarranton Eng. Improv. 101 Let us fall too, and consider of some good things to advance the Woollen Manufactures. 1842Dickens Amer. Notes ii, We fall-to upon these dainties. 1865Parkman Champlain iii. (1875) 223, I have seen our curé and the minister..fall to with their fists on questions of faith. 1886Tip Cat xv. 199 Dick, finding a spare rake, fell to and worked with a will.
101. fall together. †a. Of the eyes: To close. †b. To collapse, contract, shrink up. Obs.
a1300Cursor M. 16762 + 75 (Cott.) To-geder fell his eghen. 1654Whitlock Zootomia 75 He telleth him..that the Brain is fallen close together.
c. fall together by the ears: see ear 1 d.
d. Phonetics. To become identical.
1905J. Wright Eng. Dial. Gram. p. iv, Many vowel-sounds, which are generally supposed to have fallen together in Middle English, were in reality kept apart. 1959A. Campbell Old Eng. Gram. 153, æ, e, and i fell together in a sound written e in unaccented syllables.
☛ Phrase-key. (The prepositional combinations in X, and the adverbial combinations in XI, are not included.).
Fall pres. conj. (fair, foul f., f. what can, etc.) 46 d; fall a prey, sacrifice, victim 24; f. about a person's ears 28; f. among thieves 35 a; f. at the crest 15; f. calm 10 b; f. dead 23; f. due 40 a; f. from a person, his mouth 6; f. heir 40 b; f. in age 7 b; f. in flesh 14; f. in (one's) heart 34; f. in love 38 b; f. in pieces 27; f. in two 27 b; f. into error, sin 25 b; f. into (a person's) heart, mind 34; f. on (one's) face, knees 20; f. on a sword 19 c; f. out of flesh 14; f. pregnant 22 b; f. profit 46 c; f. to be 40, 47; f. to earth, ground 1, 19; f. to (one's) lot, share 31; f. to mould, to pieces, powder 27; f. to (one's) rifle 23 c; f. to (one)self 36; f. to (one's) share 31; let fall 4.
▸ to fall apart v. intr. 1. To separate; to go separate ways.
In later use freq. merging with sense 2a.
1600N. Downton in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations II. ii. 200 When my care was most..by the burning asunder of our spritsaile-yard with ropes and saile, and the ropes about the spritsaile-yard of the Carack, whereby we were fast intangled, we fell apart, with burning of some of our sailes which we had then on boord. 1605B. Jonson Sejanus iv. i, Where are my Sons? Nero? and Drusus? We. Are they be shot at; Let us fall apart. 1865Times 8 June 10/6 At hotels and in railway cars, at home and in Europe, they naturally fell apart, each section keeping to itself. 1947E. R. Hughes tr. Y.-L. Feng Spirit of Chinese Philos. 41 Thus, in the family, fathers and sons and elder and younger brothers hated each other: they fell apart and could not live in harmony. 1995R. F. Hildebrand Times were Strange & Stirring p. xviii, There was a time when Methodists were one, but they fell apart, largely because of different ideas about race.
2.
a. lit. and fig. To break up, collapse, or disintegrate; cf. to fall to pieces at 27a.
1761A. Catcott Treat. Deluge ii. 198 Those that are of the same substance throughout (as flinty, alabaster nodules, &c commonly are) when broken, split or fall apart in all kinds of directions. 1856C. G. Comegys tr. P.-V. Renouard Hist. Med. viii. x. 533 After the death of the celebrated professor of Leyden [sc. Boerhaave], the iatro-mechanical doctrine fell apart. 1927Amer. Mercury May 111/1 Harnesses wore out, wheels fell apart at the fellow or the hub, main-braces gave way, tongues snapped in two. 1983L. B. Rubin Intimate Strangers (1984) ii. 28 My mother tries to understand, but she worries about the kids, the marriage falling apart, and on and on. 2004Independent (Tabloid ed.) 26 Feb. (Rev. section) 13/5 He'd wear each new gift with impunity until it fell apart.
b. Of a person: to suffer an emotional or psychological collapse; to lose emotional composure.
1939C. Odets Rocket to Moon ii. 133 Cooper. I'm falling apart by inches. (Suddenly sobbing) Where can I sail away? To where? I'm ashamed to live! 1954T. Williams Let. 29 Oct. in Five O'Clock Angel (1991) 103, I feel better, despite this turmoil, than I did when I left Italy. Perhaps I am geared for excitement. On the other hand, perhaps I will suddenly fall apart altogether. 1969Walla Walla (Washington) Union-Bull. (Progress ed.) 16 Feb. h10/1 You can tell other girls how to handle men..but when it's your guy—you fall apart like a boarding school passion puppy on her first date! 1996H. Fielding Bridget Jones's Diary (1997) 181 I'm falling apart... Do not know what to believe in or hold on to any more.
▸ colloq. (euphem. or humorous). to fall off the back of a lorry (also chiefly N. Amer. and Austral.to fall off the back of a truck) and variants: (of goods, etc.) to be acquired in dubious or unspecified circumstances, esp. to be stolen; (also, in extended use) to be of questionable origin or value. Chiefly in past tense.
1968Times 26 Feb. 1/4 The suggestion of the finder, a casual motorist, that the records ‘must have fallen off the back of a lorry’. 1972A. Bennett Getting On i. 26 Enid: Where did it [sc. a gravestone] come from? Geoff: Fell off the back of a churchyard. 1977Times Lit. Suppl. 25 Feb. 211/1 Compared with [Wordsworth's and Arnold's] capabilities, Keble's literary skills look as if they fell off the back of a lorry. 1986Westside News (Brisbane) 10 Sept. 7/2 Stories of an ‘extra special bargain’ or goods that ‘fell off the back of a truck’ are favourites for getting rid of stolen goods. 1996Milwaukee Jrnl. Sentinel (Nexis) 11 July 1 Top quality merchandise, enough to fill an appliance storeroom, and all at a greatly reduced price. Mainly because ‘it fell off of a truck.’ 2001Wire June 70/3 Some controversy now surrounds material coming from this East London label: has it all fallen off the back of a barrow or is it kosher? |