downfalln.
/ˈdaʊnfɔːl/, U.S. /ˈdaʊnˌfɔl/, /ˈdaʊnˌfɑl/ 1.
a. The decline of a person or thing from a position of high standing to one of ruin; ignominy, defeat, or obsolescence; a loss of power, prosperity, or status.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > adversity > [noun] > fall from prosperous or thriving condition
rureOE
ebbingc1200
fallc1225
declinea1327
downfallingc1330
downfalla1400
fall of mana1400
wanea1400
ruinc1405
wrack1426
inclinationc1450
declination1533
labefactation1535
ebb1555
falling off1577
declining1581
inclining1590
declension1604
downset1608
neck-breaka1658
overseta1658
lapsing1665
reducement1667
lapse1680
labefaction1792
downshift1839
subsidence1839
downgrade1857
downturn1858
downslide1889
downswing1922
turn-down1957
tail-off1975
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 11362 Þis child..Sal be to fel men in dun fall, And to fell in vprising.
1538 Prymer in Eng. after Vse of Sarum sig. Qviii Dauid..doth fyrst as it were in a songe recorde and expresse his great deieccyon & downefal.
1595 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 3 v. vi. 65 Such as seeke the downefall of our house.
1646 N. Gibbon Reconciler 12 If ever the tide turne; men will rejoyce at their downfall and laugh when their feare commeth.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost i. 116 That were an ignominy and shame beneath This downfall . View more context for this quotation
1750 S. Johnson Rambler No. 60. ⁋2 Histories of the downfal of kingdoms.
1790 T. Lindsey Let. 24 Dec. (2012) II. 83 I think them [sc. Priestley's Letters to Burke] most admirable, and such as..by no other powder explosion but the force of truth bring on the downfall of our hierarchical powers.
1824 W. Irving Tales of Traveller II. 3 The downfall of his great expectations.
1899 Mind 8 474 The downfall of the European language of scholars, of neo-Latin.
1928 Jrnl. Polit. Econ. 36 576 Therefore it becomes the duty of every sincere Socialist to prepare for the downfall of capitalism.
1957 F. Chipperfield In Quest of Love vi. 161 His so-called betrayal of his class was followed by his so-called social downfall.
1979 Observer 21 Jan. 35/6 Duke Hsiang..accomplished the final downfall of his own dynasty in 638 bc by chivalrously refusing to attack an opposing army until it was properly marshalled.
2015 Radio Times 27 June (South/West ed.) 41/1 Winona Ryder plays the object of his love and the inadvertent cause of his downfall.
b. The cause of a decline in power, prosperity, or status; something or someone that brings about ruin or prevents the achievement of an ambition or success. Now also in weakened sense: something or someone a person is unable to resist; a weakness.
ΚΠ
?1563 tr. Articles agreed by Archbysshops, & Bisshops .M.D.lxii sig. Aviiiv For curious and carnall persons,..to haue continually before theyr eyes, the sentence of Gods predestination, is a most daungerous downfall, wherby the deuyll doth thrust them eyther into desperation, or into rechlesnes of most vncleane lyuyng.
1596 T. Lodge Wits Miserie 48 Plutarch reporting Hannibals follies at Cannas, holdeth Lust and effeminate pleasure to be the downfall of his fortunes.
1610 R. Gibbons tr. L. de la Puente Meditat. Myst. Holy Faith i. 295 As it is saide in Iob, my owne counsell is my downefall.
1677 C. Gibbes XXXI Serm. Stanford-Rivers xxiii. 348 They who forsake him should be forsaken by him; which must of necessity be their Downfall.
1718 J. Breval Play is Plot ii. i. 21 Ambition, Madam, Ambition; that which was the downfal of Cæsar.
1779 R. J. Sulivan Anal. Polit. Hist. India i. 5 That spark of liberty..was finally to be the downfall of oppression.
1826 G. L. Smyth Monuments & Genii St. Paul's Cathedral & Westm. Abbey I. 257 The death of Edward the III...was the downfall of Chaucer's fortune.
1848 C. E. Kells California 14 Pride has impoverished her [sc. Spain], and we doubt not in the end if stubbornness will be her downfall.
1891 ‘Amicus’ Let. 2 Aug. in Rep. Royal Comm. Chinese Gambling & Immorality (1892) (New S. Wales Parl., 1891–2) 49 286 Beware of these gentlemen, or they will be your downfall.
1910 in J. A. Lomax Cowboy Songs 292 Whiskey, you villain, You've been my downfall, You've kicked me, you've cuffed me, But I love you for all.
1958 Jrnl. Criminal Law, Criminol., & Police Sci. 49 194/1 Dr. Reinhardt skillfully avoids the extremes that have proved the downfall of many other investigators.
1993 G. Hardin Living within Limits (1995) xi. 102 There are times when we fear that the snowballing ‘information overload’ may be the downfall of civilization.
2017 Derbyshire Times (Nexis) 9 Feb. I must admit, one of my downfalls is coleslaw—and the homemade variety at the Dog is simply sublime.
2.
a. The action or fact of falling or descending from an elevated position, esp. by force of gravity; an instance of this.
ΚΠ
a1525 (a1500) Sc. Troy Bk. (Douce) l. 2691 in C. Horstmann Barbour's Legendensammlung (1882) II. 296 Sche..with ane suddane downe-fall Tham castis In-to mischeif all.
1530 Myroure Oure Ladye (Fawkes) (1873) iii. 298 The sonne knowyng no downe falle [L. occasum].
1606 S. Gardiner Doomes-Day Bk. iv. 27 The signes that keepe companie with the Iudgement, are 1. The obscuracion of the sunne. 2 The Eclipse and defect of the Moone. 3 The downefall of starres.
1674 N. Cox Gentleman's Recreation ii. 129 If she [sc. a hawk] miss at the first down-fall and kill not.
1700 M. Prior Carmen Sæculare 12 Is her daring Flight reclaim'd By Seas, from Icarus's Downfal nam'd?
1775 J. Lewis Serious Addr. Minister to People 41 Approach not the verge of the precipice, lest you meet a headlong downfall.
1865 W. S. Jevons Coal Quest. ii. 25 The upraisals, the downfalls, the dislocations,..which rocks have suffered.
1897 Harper's New Monthly Mag. Oct. 720/2 It is hard to tell whether the crust over which you pass is sufficiently stiff to support you from a downfall into fluid lava.
1922 T. J. J. See New Thory of Aether 250/2 Sir John Herschel was the first to suggest that the sunspot periodicity depends on the downfall of meteors upon the solar surface.
2008 P. Selgin Drowning Lessons 68 His literal downfall, tumbling back-first down the stairs to my storage room under an armload of shoes.
b. The action of falling to the ground from an upright position; (with reference to a person) an instance of falling over as a result of tripping, stumbling, etc.; (with reference to a building) the action of collapsing.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > falling > [noun] > a fall
fallc1175
falling downc1350
downfall1556
occase1609
tumble1716
1556 N. Grimald tr. Cicero Thre Bks. Duties ii. f. 70 Seastormes, tempests, shipwracks, dounfalls, burnings.
1582 A. P. Compasse of Christian iv. 140 The downe fall of the wals of Ieryco.
1594 T. Bowes tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. II. 493 Those that..runne on swiftly whither they please, without feare of downefalles.
1611 J. Florio Queen Anna's New World of Words Trabocco, a downe-fall, a groueling on the ground.
1655 J. Howell 4th Vol. Familiar Lett. xxxvi. 85 If you take out but one stone it hazards the downfall of the whole Edifice.
1751 F. Coventry Hist. Pompey the Little x. 215 Three rotten Chairs and a half seemed to stand like Traps in various Parts of the Room, threatning Downfals to unwary Strangers.
1789 R. Twining Let. 30 Aug. in Sel. Papers Twining Family (1887) 193 I suppose you have heard from my brother of my downfall?.. A thundering overset—such as might have been felt, I conceive, at the Antipodes.
1858 H. W. Beecher & E. D. Proctor Life Thoughts 106 An oak tree for two hundred years grows solitary. It is bitterly handled by frosts; it is wrestled with by ambitious winds, determined to give it a downfall.
1880 M. Rae Hartleigh Towers I. v. 88 The downfall of one or two veteran trees left an open chink in the green tracery which framed the distant landscape.
1910 Univ. of Ottawa Rev. Oct. 5 The effect..can be shown by standing a row of dominoes on ends within a short distance of each other and then causing the end one to fall against its neighbor. The result will be the downfall of the whole row.
1965 Times 17 Aug. 3/1 Accurate spin bowling..brought the downfall of 20 wickets.
2014 Salt Lake Tribune (Nexis) 6 Aug. Bryant said officials still were unsure Monday exactly what led to the tower's downfall, but she suspected it had to do with lightning or high winds and rain.
c. A decrease in the amount, quantity, or extent of something; a reduction in price.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > decrease or reduction in quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > instance of
downfall1654
fall1792
drop1847
cut1881
degrowth1920
step-down1922
rollback1942
1654 E. Johnson Hist. New-Eng. xiii. 134 As yet Cowes and Cattell of that kinde were not come to the great downfall in their price.
1774 Ld. Kames Sketches Hist. Man I. i. iv. 75 There is here no downfal in the value of commodities, which cannot happen while the quantity and demand continue unvaried.
1830 J. Wilson Noctes Ambrosianæ lii, in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Nov. 848 Port wine tummled doon ever sae mony shillens the bottle..I remember hoo a' the middle-classes..at the first doonfa' o' the article, clapped their hauns, and swore to substitute port in place o' porter.
1874 Leeds Mercury 25 Aug. 4/4 Should the present agitation with the men result in a downfall of wages, the value of coal will also decline.
1917 Bull. Soc. Study of Social Consequences of War 3 33 In the second half-year the downfall in the number of births is even fully 5 % greater than from May to October.
1969 Financial Times 30 May 1/4 Carpets are one of the few areas to be experiencing a sharp downfall in consumer demand.
2015 P. Keizer Multidisciplinary Econ. viii. 241 In Shiller's world actors are irrational because they keep buying assets as if their prices will rise forever; they take the risk of facing a sudden downfall in the prices.
3. A steep downward slope; an abyss, gulf.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > landscape > high land > slope > [noun] > downward
downhielda1400
descencec1425
descent1485
descending1490
downfall1542
pitch1542
downhill1548
declinea1552
falling1565
stoop1611
declivitya1613
devergence1727
downslope1855
the world > the earth > land > landscape > low land > hole or pit > [noun] > abyss
swallowa700
deepnessa1000
deep1393
abysmc1475
dungeonc1475
depth1523
gulfa1533
downfall1542
hell-kettle1577
abysmus1611
vorago1654
under-abyss1662
purgatory1766
fosse1805
jaw-hole1840
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes i. f. 135 Rockes of a down right pitche, or a stiepe down falle.
1586 T. Bowes tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. I. 245 Beware thou tumble not into some downefall.
1594 R. Carew tr. J. Huarte Exam. Mens Wits v. 67 These..delight to walke..thorow dangerous and high places, and to approch neere steepe down-fals.
1606 R. Knolles tr. J. Bodin Six Bks. Common-weale vi. iv. 720 Vntill the tyranny of one, of few, or of many, be mounted to the highest precipice or downfall.
1691 J. Dryden King Arthur ii. i. 11 Dreadfull Downfalls of unheeded Rocks.
1822 J. Hogg Three Perils of Man I. 63 A bit downfa' to the south.
1916 C. M. Doughty Titans iii. 71 Bleak height of sacred snow; whose misty bergs, Stern solemn downfalls, fretted silent cliffs; Are fearful to Mans sense.
1925 E. C. Smith Mang Howes 2 Now, at lang last, the hinmaist doonfaa o the road brings ee oot richt at Bosells Green.
2013 T. Marsh Great Mountain Days in Pennines vi. 44 In places it [sc. the river Tees] meanders smoothly over a wide bed of rock; elsewhere it cascades forcefully with all the might of a major river over rocky downfalls.
4. concrete.† a. Something that has fallen down; a ruin, a piece of debris. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > breaking or cracking > [noun] > demolition > a ruin or wreck > ruins
tatter1402
ash1553
downfall1575
destruction1585
parietines1621
masure1623
detriments1632
wreck1713
wrecking1855
lagan1906
1575 J. Turler Traueiler ii. vii. 135 Of so great and renowmed a Citie as this hath bin, there remaineth now almost nothing, besides a fewe ruines and downfalles, wherin a few poore fishermen are now dwelling, with certeine Monumentes very auncient.
1596 W. Warner Albions Eng. (rev. ed.) xii. lxxiv. 303 On Auentine the down-fals are of Temples store to see.
b. U.S. As a mass noun: fallen trees, branches, etc.
ΚΠ
1969 Field & Stream Sept. 80/2 Jackpine thickets so choked with downfall I could walk 300 yards or farther without stepping on the ground.
1999 G. Wuerthner Olympic: Visitor's Compan. 212 Stubby tail, brown body with barring on belly. Distribution. Dense forests, among downfall, and dense riparian vegetation.
2013 B. M. Willis Trout Adventures: N. Amer. 115 The final four miles up the mountain to Lightning Lake had no trail and the area was filled with downfall and boulders.
5. † a. A torrent or cascade of water, esp. one falling from a height as part of a river or stream; a waterfall. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > [noun] > flowing down
downfall1578
decursion1629
decurrency1651
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > precipitation or atmospheric moisture > [noun] > fall of
fall1555
downfall1578
1578 G. Best True Disc. Passage to Cathaya iii. 22 A greate downefall of water, whyche they imagine to be thereaboutes.
1596 W. Smith Chloris sig. B4 Those downfals which from mine eies were sent.
1612 J. Speed Theatre of Empire of Great Brit. iv. v. 145/2 A great downfall of water, termed The Salmon-Leap.
1698 tr. L. Hennepin New Discov. in Amer. vii. 30 This wonderful Downfal, is compounded of two great Cross-streams of Water, and two Falls, with an Isle sloping along the middle of it.
1707 Contempl. Changes of Human Life vii. 35 As one Born near the downfalls of Nilus, becomes Deaf to the sound of those Waters.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Downfalls, the descending waters of rivers and creeks.
1908 Strand Mag. May 531/1 He reached the spot of tranquility under and inside the downfall.
b. British. A fall of precipitation from the sky as rain, snow, or hail, esp. when sudden and heavy; a downpour; (also) the fallen water amassing through this process.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > precipitation or atmospheric moisture > rain > [noun] > a or the fall of rain > downpour > sudden
rashOE
waterspout1586
downfall1603
plumpa1688
spate1727
cloud-burst1872
1603 R. Knolles Gen. Hist. Turkes 31 The riuer Melas..in Winter or any other great downefall of water, right suddenly ouerfloweth his bankes.
1642 C. Vermuyden Disc. Drayning Great Fennes 7 There is a generall Rule of Drayning and gaining of drowned Lands, which is by imbanking all the Rivers on each side, and by leading away the Downefall by Draines and Sluices.
1690 C. Ness Compl. Hist. & Myst. Old & New Test. I. 126 The dreadful downfal, as well as up-rise, of the waters.
1799 Lett. & Papers Agric. (Bath & West of Eng. Soc.) IX. xv. 155 This ground being overrun by streams of water from the street, farm-yards, &c. upon every down-fall of rain, it is rendered so prolific as to bear four crops a year.
1834 W. S. Roscoe Poems 154 Thunder peals, Tremendous downfall, and the earth beneath Trembles in dread.
1870 E. Peacock Ralf Skirlaugh III. 17 The weatherwise..said there would soon be ‘downfall’; but no rain came.
1901 W. W. Smith New Test. in Braid Scots James v. 17 Elijah..wi' mickle prayer prayed he that thar soud be nae doonfa' ; and thar was nae weet on the grun' for thrie year and a hauf.
1930 Manch. Guardian 29 May 16/3 A terrific downfall of hailstones as big as pipe bowls..was confined to the farm of Mr. Chas. Goodwin.
1962 Rep. Med. Officer (Flintshire County Council) 121 January, 1962, will be remembered for the intense cold, accompanied by heavy downfalls of snow and prolonged frost.
2000 A. Taylor Where Roses Fade (2003) xliv. 311 First came a few scattered but heavy drops. He put on speed, hoping to reach the Bull before the worst of the downfall.
6. Any of various types of trap designed to kill or capture prey by falling on or over the animal; esp. a deadfall (deadfall n. 1a). Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > equipment > trap or snare > [noun] > pit trap
pitOE
pitfalla1387
trapfall1596
trap-pit1652
trap-ditch1657
pit trap1751
well trap1819
downfall1856
hopo1866
piskun1892
1856 C. J. Andersson Lake Ngami 528 To destroy the hippopotamus..by means of the downfall..consisting of a log of wood.
1858 R. K. Philp Corner Cupboard 116/1 The down-fall is an excellent method of capturing birds required for the cage, as it does them no injury.
1882 Hunter & Angler 31 The stake [of a snare] should be squared on two sides, and fitted to a deep shoulder in the spindle, as it is more likely to turn out of position than when used with the downfall.
1986 S. Afr. Archaeol. Bull. 41 79/2 A line was attached to the downfall that, when tripped by a trundling hippo..snapped the line so that the large point of the downfall descended.
Compounds
C1. General attributive, with the sense ‘that is falling or has fallen down, descending’.
ΚΠ
1791 J. Smeaton Narr. Edystone Lighthouse §259 Protecting it..from the entrance of the downfall spray.
1908 Hutchinson (Kansas) Daily News 25 Sept. 7/3 For Sale—Downfall apples cheap, one mile south of State Reformatory.
2004 R. Cotton Guns of Wolf Valley ii. 14 He looked around wildly and found a heavy five-foot-long length of downfall spruce lying on the ground.
2013 M. Spencer Clingmans Dome iv. 70 Fierce mountain winds and heavy layers of ice can topple trees, leaving a jungle of downfall debris.
C2.
downfall water n. now rare water that has fallen in the form of rain.
ΚΠ
1682 in T. Badeslade Hist. Anc. & Present State Navigation King's-Lyn (1725) (modernized text) App. 131 The..downfall Waters are stopped by these Brooks running high.
1722 T. Yarborough Let. 19 Nov. in Early Hist. Don Navigation (1965) 55 This must be of great servise to Sir Geo. to carry of the downfall water so quick from his estates, but a hardship to his neibers below.
1808 C. Vancouver Gen. View Agric. Devon xi. 285 By these drains the downfal waters would immediately escape.
1871 Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper 12 Feb. 5/1 The downfall water runs so rapidly into rivers and streams during the winter season, that they are utterly dry and parched, even in the beginning of the summer.
1956 H. C. Darby Draining of Fens (ed. 2) iv. 145 There were still many complaints of flodding by downfall water.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
downfallv.
/ˌdaʊnˈfɔːl/, U.S. /ˌdaʊnˈfɔl/, /ˌdaʊnˈfɑl/ intransitive. To fall in a downward direction; to fall down. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > falling > fall [verb (intransitive)] > fall down or from erect position
fallOE
to fall downc1175
torple?c1225
glidec1275
overthrowc1330
downfallc1350
swaya1400
reversea1470
twine1600
to go down1697
c1350 in Anglia (1906) 29 404 Þai be-soght him dounfalland..to him bede þai þore, Golde, Recles, Mirre wel more.
a1400 Psalter (Vesp.) xvii. 10 in C. Horstmann Yorkshire Writers (1896) II. 148 Koles þat ware dounfalland Kindled ere ofe him glouand.
1447 O. Bokenham Lives of Saints (Arun.) (1938) l. 3438 (MED) He hir smote euyn þrogh þe body, Wherwyth to erth it dide dounfal.
1532 T. More Confut. Tyndales Answere i. p. lxxiii He must nedys confesse that Crystes chyrche is the chyrche that we be of, and out of whyche hym selfe is downe fallen by vnfaythfulnes in to ye depe dongeon of the deuyll.
1605 R. Dallington Suruey Great Dukes State Tuscany 24 A line perpendicularly downe-falling to the ground.
c1738 Inscription on Robert Alexander's Grave in A. Jervise Epit. & Inscriptions N.-E. Scotl. (1875) I. 34/1 An old clay chimney that downfell Kill'd both his servant and himsell.
1868 J. A. B. Meta of Gaindara iv. iv. 83 And as the forest kings downfell Both near and distant wooded dell Re-echoed with scarce softer sound Than when..The cannon pours its murderous fire.
1896 G. Barlow Jesus of Nazareth iv. viii. 144 Antonia's tower with thunderous crash downfell.
1901 G. H. Clarke Wayfarings 68 We rush and we leap, and we overturn Downfalling, downfalling.
1932 W. Faulkner Light in August xi. 219 By the light of the candle she did not look much more than thirty, in the soft light downfalling upon the softungirdled presence of a woman prepared for sleep.
1983 D. Ackerman Lady Faustus i. 14 Hair streamed like Medusa's Above me as I downfell To gardens of hula-ing sea plumes.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.a1400
v.c1350- tabooism
- tabooist
- tabooness
- taboos
- taboparalysis
- taboparesis
- tabor
- tabor it
- survival kit
- survival machine
- survival of the fittest
- survival pack
- survival rate
- survival skill
- survival suit
- survival time
- survival training
- survival value
- survivalism
- survivalisms
- survivalist
- survivalists
- survivals
- survivance
- survivances