FALL

I. verb (fell; ~en; ~ing) Etymology: Middle English, from Old English feallan; akin to Old High German ~an to ~ and perhaps to Lithuanian pulti Date: before 12th century intransitive verb 1. to descend freely by the force of gravity, to hang freely , to drop oneself to a lower position , to come or go as if by ~ing , to become born, 3. to become lower in degree or level , to drop in pitch or volume , issue 1a, b , to become lowered , 4. to leave an erect position suddenly and involuntarily , to enter as if unawares ; stumble , stray , to drop down wounded or dead, to suffer military capture , to lose office , to suffer ruin, defeat, or failure , to commit an immoral act, 6. to move or extend in a downward direction , subside , abate , to decline in quality, activity, or quantity , to lose weight, to assume a look of shame, disappointment, or dejection , to decline in financial value or price , 7. to occur at a certain time , to come by chance , to come or pass by lot, assignment, or inheritance ; devolve , to have a certain or proper position, place, or station , to come within the limits, scope, or jurisdiction of something , to pass suddenly and passively into a state of body or mind or a new state or condition , to set about heartily or actively , strike , impinge , transitive verb fell 1, II. noun Date: 13th century the act of ~ing by the force of gravity, 2. a ~ing out, off, or away ; dropping , the season when leaves ~ from trees ; autumn , a thing or quantity that ~s or has ~en , d. birth , the quantity born, 3. a costume decoration of lace or thin fabric arranged to hang loosely and gracefully, a very wide turned-down collar worn in the 17th century, the part of a turnover collar from the crease to the outer edge, a wide front flap on trousers (as those worn by sailors), the freely hanging lower edge of the skirt of a coat, one of the three outer and often drooping segments of the flower of an iris, long hair overhanging the face of dogs of some breeds, a usually long straight portion of hair that is attached to a person's own hair, a hoisting-tackle rope or chain, 5. loss of greatness ; collapse , the surrender or capture of a besieged place , lapse or departure from innocence or goodness, loss of a woman's chastity, the blame for a failure or misdeed , 6. the downward slope (as of a hill) ; declivity , a precipitous descent of water ; water~ , a musical cadence, a ~ing-pitch intonation in speech, a decrease in size, quantity, degree, or value, 8. the distance which something ~s, inclination , pitch , 9. the act of felling something, the quantity of trees cut down, c. an act of forcing a wrestler's shoulders to the mat for a specified time (as one second), a bout of wrestling, destiny , lot , III. adjective Date: 1677 of, relating to, or suitable for autumn