| 释义 |
▪ I. befall, v.|bɪˈfɔːl|
Also 2–5 bi-, by-, 2–4 be-, bivalle, 6– befal. Pa. tense befell (2– -fel). Pa. pple. befallen. Variant forms generally as in fall.
[OE. bef(e)all-an f. be- 2 + f(e)allan to fall; = OS., OHG. bifallan, mod.G. befallen.]
†1. intr. To fall. (Chiefly fig.) Obs.
c897K. ælfred Past. Ca. xl. (Bosw.), Hie oft befeallað on micel yfel. c1000Ags. Gosp. Matt. x. 29 An of ðam ne befylþ on eorþan. c1160Hatton G. ibid., Ne befalð on eorðen. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 73 Þe sinfulle man beoð bifallen on depe sinne. 1470Harding Chron. Pref. 2 Iff that he were in suche a jupertee Of werre by falle. 1649Selden Laws Eng. i. lxvii. (1739) 177 Many mens cases befel not directly within the Letter of the Law.
2. To fall to as one's share or right; to pertain, belong; be fitting. Also impers. arch.
c1175Lamb. Hom. 161 Mest al þet ich habbe idon bi-fealt to child-hade. c1305St. Lucy 170 in E.E.P. (1862) 106 Þe reisouns were alle iseid þat bifulle þerto. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. ii. 48 ‘Reddite Caesari,’ seide god, ‘þat to cesar by-falleþ.’ c1460Towneley Myst. 209 Sirs, a kyng he hym cals, Therfor a crowne hym befals. 1649Selden Laws Eng. i. xiii. (1739) 23 It now befals to touch upon the manner of the Government of the Church. 1850Neale Med. Hymns 197 Giving to the dearer ones What to each befalleth.
†3. To fall to (as an inheritance). Obs.
a1617Bayne On Eph. (1658) 131 Goodly Lands, which in likelihood will befal him. 1704Lond. Gaz. No. 4049/4 He is desired to return..he having an Estate befallen him.
4. To fall out in the course of events, to happen, occur:
a. simply. arch.
a1300Sarmun 57 in E.E.P. (1862) 7 Þe mest ioi þat mai befalle. c1420Anturs Arth. lv, This ferli be-felle in Ingulwud forest. 1513Douglas æneis ix. i. 48, I sal persew, and follow quhat befaw. 1610Healey St. August. City of God 126 The Eclipse which befell at our Saviours death was quite against the regular course of the stars. 1765Tucker Lt. Nat. I. 372 There are seldom any events befalling..which concern no more than a single person. 1855Thackeray Newcomes xx, Ethel's birthday befel in the Spring.
b. with indirect obj. (dative). The most frequent modern use.
1297R. Glouc. 556 Ac after þulke time..Lute god cas him biuel. 1477Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 91 They knowe not what good may befall them thereby. 1597Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. xxxix. §4 Wks. 1841 I. 553 Heavy accidents which befall men in this..life. 1611Bible Gen. xlii. 4 Lest peraduenture mischiefe befall him. 1709Steele Tatler No. 128 ⁋6 The most deplorable misfortune that possibly can befal a Woman. 1858J. Martineau Stud. Chr. 90 The disaster which then befell the human race.
c. with to, unto, or upon. arch.
a1225Ancr. R. 344 Swuche openliche sunnen þet to alle men biualleð. 1583Golding Calvin on Deut. xvii. 97 If this befell to Moses. 1667Milton P.L. vii. 43 What befell in Heaven To those Apostates. 1814Cary Dante's Inf. xxiii. 5 What fate unto the mouse and frog befel.
d. impers., or with subject it representing a clause.
c1175Cott. Hom. 231 Þa be-fel hit swa þat hym a þance befell. 1250Lay. 27135 Luþer him bifalle was. c1386Chaucer Prol. 18 Byfel that, in that sesoun on a day, In Southwerk at the Tabbard as I lay, etc. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. i. 7 On Maluerne hulles Me byfel for to slepe. 1483Caxton G. de la Tour D vi, As in like wise bifelle to Eue that touchid of the fruyt. 1590Shakes. Com. Err. v. i. 208 So befall my soule, As this is false. 1667Milton P.L. ix. 1185 Thus it shall befall Him who..Lets her Will rule. 1857Kingsley Two Y. Ago (1877) 54 And so it befell that they often quarrelled and wrangled.
†e. In phrases: Fair befall, foul befall. Obs.
1377Langl. P. Pl. B. v. 59 Þat feire hem bifalle Þat suweth my sermon. c1460Towneley Myst. 33 Fayre myght the befalle. a1550J. Bow & Person 67 in Hazl. E.P.P. IV. 9 Then myght he laye him, so fowle befalde. 1588Shakes. L.L.L. ii. i. 124 Now faire befall your maske.
†5. To fall in one's way, happen to be, turn up, occur. Obs.
1591Spenser Virgil's Gnat. ix, To feede abroad, where pasture best befalls.
†6.
a. with compl. To become as it were by chance, to grow. Obs.
1592W. Wyrley Armorie 146 Passing darke it was befaln.
†b. To become of. Obs.
1470–85Malory Arthur (1816) II. 125 Needs must I revenge my lord, and so will I whatsoever befal of me. a1520Myrr. Our Ladye 320 Thoughe they be roten or brente, or what euer befalle of them. 1590Shakes. Com. Err. i. i. 124 To dilate What haue befalne of them and they till now.
†7. ? To surround. Obs. rare.
1205Lay. 25736 Uppen ane hulle Mid sae ulode bi uallen [1250 mid see flode bifalle].
▪ II. † beˈfall, n. Obs.
Also befalle, byfalle.
[f. prec.]
A case, circumstance, incident, accident.
1491Caxton Vitas Patr. (W. de W. 1495) 150 Or he had tolde al his befall. Ibid. i. cxx. 141 b, He sholde enquyre ferder of the trouth of the befall. |