fell
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fell¹
- /fɛl/ US, UK
- /fel/ Australia, New Zealand
Sounds like fail (fell-fail merger) · Rhymes with -ɛl
Where it comes from
From Middle English fellen, from Old English fellan, fiellan (“to cause to fall, strike down, fell, cut down, throw down, defeat, destroy, kill, tumble, cause to stumble”), from Proto-West Germanic *fallijan, from Proto-Germanic *fallijaną (“to fell, to cause to fall”), causative of Proto-Germanic *fallaną (“to fall”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂peh₃lH-.
Cognate with Dutch vellen (“to fell, cut down”), German fällen (“to fell”), Danish fælde (“to fell”), Norwegian felle (“to fell”).
verb fells · felling · felled
- To make something fall, especially a tree. Stand, or I'll fell thee down.
- To strike down; to kill; to destroy. Gahan, horrified, saw the latter's head topple from its body, saw the body stagger and fall to the ground. ... The creature that had felled its companion was dashing madly in the direction of the hill upon which he was hidden, it dodged one of the workers that sought to seize it. … Then it was that
- To stitch down a protruding flap of fabric, as a seam allowance or pleat. To fell seam allowances, catch the lining underneath before emerging 1/4" (6mm) ahead, and 1/8" (3mm) to 1/4" (6mm) into the seam allowance.
noun fells
- A cutting-down of timber.
- The stitching down of a fold of cloth; specifically, the portion of a kilt, from the waist to the seat, where the pleats are stitched down.
- The end of a web, formed by the last thread of the weft. Cut the first 2 warp ends in half and tie each pair together with an overhand knot, snug (but not tight) against the fell.
fell²
- /fɛl/ US, UK
- /fel/ Australia, New Zealand
Sounds like fail (fell-fail merger) · Rhymes with -ɛl
Where it comes from
From Middle English fell, fel, vel, from Old English fel, fell (“hide, skin, pelt”), from Proto-West Germanic *fell, from Proto-Germanic *fellą, from Proto-Indo-European *pél-no- (“skin, animal hide”).
See also West Frisian fel, Dutch vel, German Fell, Latin pellis (“skin”), Lithuanian plėnė (“skin”), Russian плена́ (plená, “pelt”), Albanian plah (“to cover”), Ancient Greek πέλλᾱς (péllās, “skin”). Related to film, felt, pell, and pelt.
noun fells
- Skin, hide, pelt. For he is fader of feith · fourmed ȝow alle / Bothe with fel and with face.
- A covering of hair, wool, etc., especially when matted or thick; a fleece; also (chiefly in fell of hair), a thick head or mass of hair. [M]y Fell of haire / VVould at a diſmall Treatiſe rovvze, and ſtirre / As life vvere in't.
fell³
- /fɛl/ US, UK
- /fel/ Australia, New Zealand
Sounds like fail (fell-fail merger) · Rhymes with -ɛl
Where it comes from
From Middle English fell, felle, from Old Norse fell (fjall, fiæl, “mountain range or mountain terrain above the tree line”), from Proto-Germanic *felzą, *fel(e)zaz, *falisaz (compare German Felsen 'boulder, cliff', Middle Low German vels 'hill, mountain'), from Proto-Indo-European *pels-; compare Irish aill (“boulder, cliff”), Ancient Greek πέλλα (pélla, “stone”), Pashto پرښه (parṣ̌a, “rock, rocky ledge”), Sanskrit पाषाण (pāṣāṇa, “stone”). Doublet of fjeld.
Cognates includes: Danish fjeld (fjæld), Faroese fjall (fjøll), Icelandic fjall (fell), Norwegian fjell (fjøll, fjødd, fjedd, fjedl, fjill, fill, fil, fel), Swedish fjäll (Old Swedish fiæl).
noun fells
- High and barren landscape feature such as a mountain range or mountain terrain above the tree line.
- A rocky ridge or chain of mountains, particularly in the British Isles or Fennoscandia. Every now and then the sea calls some farmer or shepherd, and the restless drop in his veins gives him no peace till he has found his way over the hills and fells to the port of Whitehaven, and gone back to the cradling bosom that rocked his ancestors.
- A wild field or upland moor. As over Holt and Heath, as thorough Frith and Fell;
fell⁴
- /fɛl/ US, UK
- /fel/ Australia, New Zealand
Sounds like fail (fell-fail merger) · Rhymes with -ɛl
Where it comes from
From Middle English fel, fell (“strong, fierce, terrible, cruel, angry”), either from Old French fel or from Old English *fel, *felo, *fæle (“cruel, savage, fierce”) (only in compounds, wælfel (“bloodthirsty”), ealfelo (“evil, baleful”), ælfæle (“very dire”), etc.), from Proto-West Germanic *fali, *falu, from Proto-Germanic *faluz (“wicked, cruel, terrifying”). Cognate with Old Frisian fal (“cruel”), Middle Dutch fel (“wrathful, cruel, bad, base”), German Low German fell (“rash, swift”), Danish fæl (“disgusting, hideous, ghastly, grim”). Compare also Middle High German vālant (“imp”) and Dutch fel (“fierce, feisty, bitter”). See felon.
adjective feller · fellest
-
Of a strong and cruel nature; eager and unsparing; grim; fierce; ruthless; savage.
one fell swoop
Similar: diabolical, sadistic, spiteful, barbarous, bowelless, brutal, compassionless, cruel, flagitious, demonic, despiteful, diabolic
- Strong and fiery; biting; keen; sharp; pungent
- Very large; huge.
- Eager; earnest; intent. I am so fell to my business.
adverb more fell · most fell
- Sharply; fiercely.
fell⁵
- /fɛl/ US, UK
- /fel/ Australia, New Zealand
Sounds like fail (fell-fail merger) · Rhymes with -ɛl
Where it comes from
Perhaps from Latin fel (“gall, poison, bitterness”), or more probably from the adjective above.
noun
- Anger; gall; melancholy. Untroubled of vile fear or bitter fell.
fell⁶
- /fɛl/ US, UK
- /fel/ Australia, New Zealand
Sounds like fail (fell-fail merger) · Rhymes with -ɛl
noun
- The finer portions of ore, which go through the meshes when the ore is sorted by sifting.
fell⁷
- /fɛl/ US, UK
- /fel/ Australia, New Zealand
Sounds like fail (fell-fail merger) · Rhymes with -ɛl
Fell⁸
Where it comes from
* As an English surname, from the noun fell (“crag, rocky highland”).
* As an English, Jewish, and German surname, from Fell (“pelt, fur”) or its Yiddish equivalent. Compare Pilcher.
proper noun
- A surname. Michelle Scrogham won Barrow and Furness for Labour, ousting Conservative Simon Fell, while her party colleague Lizzi Collinge secured Morecambe and Lunesdale.
- A township in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States.
- A municipality in Trier-Saarland district, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Fell⁹
noun Fells
- Ellipsis of Fell pony Fells are usually pure black with no white markings, but bay, gray, and brown are also possible.
- Ellipsis of Fell mountain railway system, named after John Barraclough Fell. This line [the Snaefell Mountain Railway] is the world's only example of an electrically-operated railway with a Fell central rail.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: roughshod, hide, strike down, drop, cut down, savage, vanish, vicious, brutal, barbarous, cruel, inhumane, fly, felled seam, trimmed, edged
Translations
Talk about this word "fell." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/fell. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. fell. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/fell "fell." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/fell.Cite this
@misc{fell_2026,
title = {fell},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/fell},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
