Pa. t. and pa. pple. felled. Forms: 1 fellan, fyllan, Northumb. fællan, 2–5 felle(n, (5 fellyn), 4–6 fel, 3– fell. [OE. fęllan, fięllan, fyllan = OFris. falla, fella, OS. fellian (Du. vellen), OHG. fellen (MHG. vellen, mod.Ger. fällen), ON. fella (Da. fælde, Sw. falla):—OTeut. *falljan, causative of *fall-an FALL v.]
trans. To cause to fall.
1. To cut, knock, or strike down (a man or animal). † Also, to bring down (with a missile). Often with down, to the ground, etc.
c. 1000. Ags. Ps. (Thorpe) cxxxviii. 16 [cxxxix. 19]. Ȝif þu syþþan wylt þa firenfullan fyllan mid deaðe.
a. 1325. Prose Psalter, cv[i]. 26. He feld hem doun in wildernesse.
a. 1330. Otuel, 60.
| Þo cam anwe of nubie, | |
| On of kinges kniȝtes garsie, | |
| & felde oliuer to grounde. |
1375. Barbour, Bruce, XII. 524.
| That mony worthy men and wicht, | |
| Throu forss, wes fellit in that ficht. |
a. 1400. Cov. Myst. (1841), 65. Opyn in the fielde the fend he shal felle.
c. 1489. Caxton, Sonnes of Aymon, xii. 288. I felde hym doun ded afore me to therthe.
c. 1500. Lancelot, 3299. Sum in the feld fellit is in swon.
1600. Holland, Livy, XXIII. 490. Most of them were felled and strucken stark dead.
1671. Narborough, Jrnl., in Acc. Sev. Late Voy., I. (1694), 168. There came a great White Bear to him, which he shot at, and fell’d her down, but she rose again and at him.
1698. J. Fryer, A New Account of East-India and Persia, 41. On the top of a withered Stump sate perching a Chamelion … I caused a Black who had a Bow there, to fell him with an Earthen Pellet.
1702. Pope, Wife of Bath, 415.
| Provok’d to vengeance, three large leaves I tore | |
| And with one buffet fell’d him on the floor. |
1843. Lever, J. Hinton, xxix. Straight between the eyes the weapon struck me, and felled me to the ground.
1852. R. F. Burton, Falconry in Vall. of Indus, v. 60. If two [hawks] are flown they are certain to fell the game.
1855. Smedley, H. Coverdale, li. 379. With one blow of this [fist] I believe I could fell an ox.
absol. c. 1400. Melayne, 265.
| þe Saraȝene semblede so Sarely | |
| Þat þay felde faste of oure cheualrye. |
1535. Stewart, Cron. Scot. (1858), I. 332. Bot still thai stude durst nother fell nor fle.
1542–5. Brinkelow, Lament. (1874), 86. He is a mercifull God and suffreth longe, but when he striketh, he felleth to the grounde.
† b. To fell along: to lay (a man) at full length.
1665. Dryden, Indian Emp., II. ii. I fell’d along a Man of bearded Face. Ibid. (1668), Evening’s Love, V. i. A huge giant seized my torch, and felled me along.
† c. To kill. Obs.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 22903 (Cott.).
| An hungre leon … | |
| þis wolf he feld ant ete him al. |
1362. Langl., P. Pl., A. XII. 65. I shal felle þat freke in a fewe dayes!
a. 1400–50. Alexander, 3011 (Dublin MS.). Full fele fleys may nott felle bott a few wasspez.
1681. Colvil, Whigs Supplic. (1751), 58. They felled all our hens and cocks.
d. Of a disease, hunger, etc.: To lay low, lay prostrate; † to kill. Obs. exc. dial.
c. 900. trans. Bæda’s Hist., IV. xvii. [xiii.] (1891), 302. Heo mid arleasre cwale fylde wæron.
c. 1200. Trin. Coll. Hom., 177. Ȝenne hit þat tuderinde witðleoð and cumeð coðe oðer qualm and michel þerof felleð.
a. 1605. Montgomerie, Flyting w. Polwart, 305. The fersie, the falling-euill, that fels many freikes.
1665. Boyle, Occasional Reflections, II. iii. (1845), 106–7. Feavers burn us, Agues shatter us, Dropsies drown us, Phrensies unman us, the Gout tortures us, Convulsions wrack us, Epilepsies fell us, Colicks tear us; and in short, there is no considerable Disease that is not very troublesome in itself, how ever Religion may sanctifie and sweeten it.
1855. Robinson, Whitby Gloss. ‘Felled with his ailment,’ prostrate with sickness.
† e. fig. To cast down, defeat, ruin, humiliate. Obs. Also dial. of anything startling: To ‘knock (one) down.’
c. 1000. Ags. Ps. (Thorpe) lxxiii. 22 [lxxiv. 23]. Fyll þa oferhydigan.
a. 1340. Hampole, Psalter, cxxii. 1. Ill luf fellis us doun in til the erth.
1535. Coverdale, Isa. x. 33. He shal hew downe the proude, and fel the hie mynded.
1602. Marston, Antonio’s Rev., IV. i. Wks. 1856, I. 118.
| I could not thus run mad, | |
| As one confounded in a maze of mischiefe, | |
| Staggerd, starke feld with brusing stroke of chance. |
1855. Mrs. Gaskell, North & S., xxxvi. ‘I’m welly felled wi’ seeing him.’
2. To cut down (a tree). Also, † To fell down.
a. 1000. Riddles, ii. 9 (Gr.). Ic … beamas fylle.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 12395 (Cott.). He him suld sli timber fell.
a. 1400[?]. Morte Arth., 1247. He fellez forestez fele.
1520. Caxton’s Chron. Eng., II. 11 b/2. Brute caused to fell downe woddes.
1545. Brinkelow, Compl., xxiii. (1874), 58. Ye must fell down to the ground those rotten postys, the bisshops.
1577. B. Googe, Heresbach’s Husb., II. (1586), 105 b. The chesnut may bee felde every seventh yeere.
1667. Milton, P. L., VI. 575.
| Or hollow’d bodies made of Oak or Firr | |
| With branches lopt in Wood or Mountain fell’d. |
1725. De Foe, Voy. round World (1840), 340. They had not searched long but they found three trees, as they thought, large enough, and they immediately went to work with them, felled them and shaped them, and in four days’ time they had three handsome canoes.
1869. Lecky, Europ. Mor., II. i. 195. Gigantic forests were felled, inhospitable marshes reclaimed, barren plains cultivated by their hands.
absol. 1847. Marryat, Childr. N. Forest, xiii. They took their axes and went out to fell at a cluster of small spruce fir about a mile off.
† 3. To break down, overthrow, knock down (a building, construction, or erection of any kind).
a. 1000. Crist, 486 (Gr.). Hergas fyllað. Ibid., 709 (Gr.). Þa synsceaðan … godes tempel … fyldon.
a. 1000. Cross, 73 (Gr.). Þa us man fyllan onȝan ealfe to eorðan.
c. 1290. S. Eng. Leg., I. 366/43. Þe prince for wrathþe of his [seint Iacob’s] prechingue þe laddre a-doun gan felle.
1297. R. Glouc. (1724), 526.
| And a wynd a Seyn Luke’s eue at London in þe toun | |
| So grete yt com, þat yt velde mony hous adoun. |
c. 1430. Syr Gener. (Roxb.), 4002.
| Amalek he smote on the crovn | |
| That twoo quarters he feld a-doun | |
| Of his helme with his bright brond. |
1467. Mann. & Househ. Exp., 172. The walls of the salte howses … schal be felled or it be long.
1607. Topsell, Serpents (1658), 785. The … web … if one throw or cast dust upon it, the same will rather be distended and stretched, then either undone, broken, or felled down.
† b. To knock (fruit or leaves) off a tree. Obs.
1393. Langl., P. Pl., C. XIX. 128. That elde felde efte þat frut.
c. 1400. Rom. Rose, 909.
| But nyghtyngales, a full grete route | |
| That flyen over his heed aboute, | |
| The leeves felden as they flyen. |
† 4. To cause to stumble; to trip up; in quot. fig. Obs.
c. 975. Rushw. Gosp., Matt. v. 29. Gif þanne þin eȝe þæt swiþre fælle þec ahloca hit & awerp from ðe.
1377. Langl., P. Pl., B. III. 126. Ȝowre fadre she felled þorw fals biheste.
† 5. Without the notion of suddenness or violence: To bring or let down, lower, abate. Obs.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 1480 (Cott.).
| Þan sal þai fel þat fals strijf. | |
| Ibid., 3376 (Cott.). | |
| Þe mikel luue o rebecca | |
| Þan feld þe soru o dame sarra. |
1303. R. Brunne, Handl. Synne, 890.
| Þys prest seyde, ‘y shal ȝow telle | |
| What shal best þys tempest felle.’ | |
| Ibid. (c. 1330), Chron. (1810), 48. | |
| Þe burgeis of London were wroþe & stoute, | |
| & said þei suld fond to felle Knoute’s pride. |
c. 1400. Test. Love, I. (1560), 275 b/1. My blisse and my mirth arn felde.
c. 1430. Syr Gener. (Roxb.), 2712. His hote loue I shal fell.
14[?]. How Goode Wif Taught hir Daughter, 25, in Hazl., E. P. P., 49. Ne goe thou noght to tauerne thi wurchipe to felle.
c. 1460. Towneley Myst. (Surtees), 177. To felle alle fowlle defame.
c. 1620. A. Hume, Brit. Tongue (1865), 22. The Circumflex accent both liftes and felles the syllab that it possesseth.
6. To stitch down (the wider of the two edges left projecting by a seam) so that it lies flat over the other edge and leaves a smooth surface on the under-side of the seam. Also, to fell a seam.
[Etymological identity with the other senses is not certain; but the general sense ‘cause to fall’ appears applicable.]
1758. Franklin, Let., Wks. 1887, III. 7. In the great case, besides the little box, is contained some carpeting for a best room floor. There is enough for one large or two small ones; it is to be sewed together, the edges being first felled down, and care taken to make the figures meet exactly; there is bordering for the same.
1841. Barham, Ingol. Leg., Aunt Fanny.
| Each taking one end of ‘the Shirt’ on her knee, | |
| Again began working with hearty good-will, | |
| ‘Felling the Seams,’ and ‘whipping the Frill.’ |
1887. Spons’ Househ. Managem., Workroom, 891. Fell down the turnings, or only overcast them.
1892. Weldon’s Ladies’ Jrnl., Oct., 73. This opening is turned in once on the wrong side, over which is felled a piece of binding.
absol. 1862. M. T. Morrall, Hist. Needle Making, 41.
| This morning after breakfast I heard the children spell, | |
| And I’m teaching little Mary to gather and to fell. |
Hence Felling ppl. a.
1597. Daniel, Civ. Wars, III. lxxv.
| And vp and down he trauerses his ground; | |
| Now wardes a felling blowe, now strikes againe, | |
| Then nimbly shiftes a thrust, then lends a wound, | |
| Now backe he giues, then rushes-on amaine. |
