Word Origin Atlas

Exact historical dictionary sense

Fall in Webster's 1913 dictionary

The 1913 record labels fall as verb. Its source-bounded etymology and selected historical definition appear below.

WEBSTER 1913verb
Fall

[AS. feallan; akin to D. vallen, OS. & OHG. fallan, G. fallen, Icel. Falla, Sw. falla, Dan. falde, Lith. pulti, L. fallere to deceive, Gr. sfa`llein to cause to fall, Skr. sphal, sphul, to tremble. Cf. Fail, Fell, v. t., to cause to fall.]

Cross-verified historical sense
The source text may be outdated. The page preserves that historical boundary.
Cross-verified 1913 record
Headwordfall
Part of speechverb
Historical etymology[AS. feallan; akin to D. vallen, OS. & OHG. fallan, G. fallen, Icel. Falla, Sw. falla, Dan. falde, Lith. pulti, L. fallere to deceive, Gr. sfa`llein to cause to fall, Skr. sphal, sphul, to tremble. Cf. Fail, Fell, v. t., to cause to fall.]
Selected historical definitionTo Descend, either suddenly or gradually; particularly, to descend by the force of gravity; to drop; to sink; as, the apple falls; the tide falls; the mercury falls in the barometer.
Signed record IDwebster1913-fall-verb-abefa14ec846
Source locatorCIDE.F, paragraph 627; Gutenberg eBook 663
Edition-scoped answerNot earliest-attestation proofNot modern consensus
Independent historical textProject Gutenberg section 663Signed structural record sourceGNU GCIDE 0.54 archive
Quick answer

In Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "fall" is labeled verb. Its etymology is recorded as: "[AS. feallan; akin to D. vallen, OS. & OHG. fallan, G. fallen, Icel. Falla, Sw. falla, Dan. falde, Lith. pulti, L. fallere to deceive, Gr. sfa`llein to cause to fall, Skr. sphal, sphul, to tremble. Cf. Fail, Fell, v. t., to cause to fall.]" The selected historical definition says: "To Descend, either suddenly or gradually; particularly, to descend by the force of gravity; to drop; to sink; as, the apple falls; the tide falls; the mercury falls in the barometer."

Project Gutenberg Webster 1913 plus signed GNU GCIDE 0.54 Exact cross-verified historical record reviewed 2026-10-04

What this answer proves

One named sense in one historical dictionary edition.

The answer reports the selected headword, part of speech, etymology, definition, and source locator as transcribed in the cross-verified 1913 record.

Evidence boundaryIt does not establish the earliest attestation or a complete borrowing chain.It does not claim current scholarly consensus or a modern dictionary definition.Historical dictionary text may be obsolete, incomplete, inaccurate, or offensive by modern standards.

More released F records

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[F. fondre, L. fundere to found, pour.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

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[F., from L. facies form, shape, face, perh. from facere to make (see Fact); or perh. orig. meaning appearance, and from a root meaning to shine, and akin to E. fancy. Cf. Facetious.]

Webster 1913 exact recordadjective

Future

[F. futur, L. futurus, used as fut. p. of esse to be, but from the same root as E. be. See Be, v. i.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

Form

[OE. & F. forme, fr. L. forma; cf. Skr. dhariman. Cf. Firm.]

Webster 1913 exact recordadjective

Final

[F., fr. L. finalis, fr. finis boundary, limit, end. See Finish.]

Webster 1913 exact record

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