Felling

fell ¹  (fl)

tr.v. felled, fell·ing, fells

1.

a. To cause to fall by striking; cut or knock down: fell a tree; fell an opponent in boxing.

b. To kill: was felled by an assassin's bullet.

2. To sew or finish (a seam) with the raw edges flattened, turned under, and stitched down.

n.

1. The timber cut down in one season.

2. A felled seam.

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[Middle English fellen, from Old English fellan, fyllan.]

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fella·ble adj.

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fell ²  (fl)

adj.

1. Of an inhumanly cruel nature; fierce: fell hordes.

2. Capable of destroying; lethal: a fell blow.

3. Dire; sinister: by some fell chance.

4. Scots Sharp and biting.

Idiom:

at/in one fell swoop

All at once.

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[Middle English fel, from Old French, variant of felon; see felon¹.]

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fellness n.

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fell ³  (fl)

n.

1. The hide of an animal; a pelt.

2. A thin membrane directly beneath the hide.

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[Middle English fel, from Old English fell; see pel-³ in Indo-European roots.]

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fell ⁴  (fl)

n. Chiefly British

1. An upland stretch of open country; a moor.

2. A barren or stony hill.

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[Middle English fel, from Old Norse fell, fjall, mountain, hill.]

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fell ⁵  (fl)

v.

Past tense of fall.

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Felling [ˈfɛlɪŋ]

n

(Placename) a town in NE England, in Gateshead unitary authority, Tyne and Wear; formerly noted for coal mining. Pop.: 35 053 (1991)