fall means the sudden fall of humanity into a state of sin, as brought about by the transgression of Adam and Eve. It carries an Arena rating of 1381, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, fall ranks #2,513 of 17,052 for Most Incisive Words, #2,538 of 17,052 for Most Malleable Words, #2,759 of 17,052 for Most Sublime Words, #4,680 of 17,052 for Most Ingenious Words.
fall is pronounced /fɔːl/.
Why “fall” is a great word
A sudden or gradual descent to a lower position, especially under the force of gravity. From Middle English *fallen*, from Old English *feallan* ("to fall, fail, decay, die, attack"), from Proto-West Germanic *fallan*, from Proto-Germanic *fallaną*, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃elh₁-* ("to collapse, fall; to destroy"). Unlike "ascent," which denotes a deliberate climb, or "autumn," which merely names a season, "fall" is the primal vector of loss—unchosen, accelerated, final. It is the apple released from the branch, the rope parting at the cliff face, the soft thump of a ripe pear on dry earth; the body's mute confession that all height is temporary, and the ground receives everything.
Etymology
Verb from Middle English fallen, from Old English feallan (“to fall, fail, decay, die, attack”), from Proto-West Germanic *fallan (“to fall”), from Proto-Germanic *fallaną (“to fall”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃elh₁- (“to collapse, fall; to destroy”).
Cognates
Cognate with Scots faw (“to fall”), Yola vale, vall, vole (“to fall”), North Frisian faal, fåle (“to fall”), Saterland Frisian faale (“to fall”), West Frisian falle (“to fall”), Bavarian foin (“to fall”), Cimbrian ballan, vallan (“to fall”), Dutch vallen (“to fall”), German and Low German fallen (“to fall”), Luxembourgish falen (“to fall”), Yiddish פֿאַלן (faln, “to fall”), Danish falde (“to fall”), Faroese, Icelandic, and Swedish falla (“to fall”), Norwegian Bokmål falle (“to fall”), Norwegian Nynorsk falla, falle (“to fall”); als
name
- The sudden fall of humanity into a state of sin, as brought about by the transgression of Adam and Eve.
- A surname.
noun
- The act of moving to a lower position under the effect of gravity.e.g.“the fall of the snow”
- A reduction in quantity, pitch, etc.e.g.““I'm through with all pawn-games,” I laughed. “Come, let us have a game of lansquenet. Either I will take a farewell fall out of you or you will have your sevenfold revenge”.”
- The time of the year when the leaves typically fall from the trees; autumn; the season of the year between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice.
- A loss of greatness or status.e.g.“the fall of Rome”
- That which falls or cascades.e.g.“A fall of hair tumbled down one side of her body like a veil.”
- The height of that which falls or cascades.
- A crucial event or circumstance.; The action of a batsman being out.
- A crucial event or circumstance.; A defect in the ice which causes stones thrown into an area to drift in a given direction.
- A crucial event or circumstance.; An instance of a wrestler being pinned to the mat.
- A hairpiece for women consisting of long strands of hair on a woven backing, intended primarily to cover hair loss.e.g.“Female patients with localized hair loss on the top of scalp could select a fall or a demiwig to camouflage crown and anterior scalp loss.”
- Blame or punishment for a failure or misdeed.e.g.“He set up his rival to take the fall.”
- The part of the rope of a tackle to which the power is applied in hoisting (usu. plural).e.g.“Have the goodness to secure the falls of the mizzen halyards.”
- An old Scots unit of measure equal to six ells.
- A short, flexible piece of leather forming part of a bullwhip, placed between the thong and the cracker.e.g.“Brooks fitted a new fall to his whip.”
- The lid, on a piano, that covers the keyboard.
- The chasing of a hunted whale.
verb
- To be moved downwards.; To move to a lower position under the effect of gravity.e.g.“Thrown from a cliff, the stone fell 100 feet before hitting the ground.”
- To be moved downwards.; To come down, to drop or descend.e.g.“The rain fell at dawn.”
- To be moved downwards.; To come as if by dropping down.
- To be moved downwards.; To come to the ground deliberately, to prostrate oneself.e.g.“He fell to the floor and begged for mercy.”
- To be moved downwards.; To be brought to the ground.
- To move downwards.; To let fall; to drop.e.g.“For every tear he falls, a Trojan bleeds.”
- To move downwards.; To sink; to depress.e.g.“to fall the voice”
- To move downwards.; To fell; to cut down.e.g.“to fall a tree”
- To change, often negatively.; To become (chiefly used with negative states).e.g.“Near-synonyms: become, get, go, turn, come, grow, wax”
- To change, often negatively.; To collapse; to be overthrown or defeated.e.g.“Rome fell to the Goths in 410 AD.”
- To change, often negatively.; To die, especially in battle or by disease.e.g.“This is a monument to all those who fell in the First World War.”
- To change, often negatively.; To become lower (in quantity, pitch, etc.).e.g.“The candidate's poll ratings fell abruptly after the banking scandal.”
- To occur (on a certain day of the week, date, or similar); to happen.e.g.“Thanksgiving always falls on a Thursday.”
- To be allotted to; to arrive through chance, fate, or inheritance.e.g.“And so it falls to me to make this important decision.”
- To diminish; to lessen or lower.e.g.“Upon lessening interest to four per cent, you fall the price of your native commodities.”
intj
- The cry given when a whale is sighted, or harpooned.
Words closest in meaning
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