Old English befeallan "to deprive of; fall to, occur to, be assigned to," from be- "by, about" + feallan (see fall (v.)). Compare Old Frisian bifalla, Old Saxon, Old High German bifallan, German befallen. Intransitive sense of "to happen, come to pass" is from c. 1300. Related: Befell; befalling.

1620s, "the falling of the dew," from dew + fall (n.); hence "early evening," the time when the dew begins to fall.

early 14c., "ruin, fall from high condition, complete overthrow," from down (adv.) + fall (v.). From c. 1500 as "a falling downward." Verbal phrase fall down in the sense of "go to ruin" is attested from late 12c.

also fall-back, as a noun, "a reserve," 1851, from verbal phrase, from fall (v.) + back (adv.), which is attested in the sense of "retreat" from c. 1600. As an adjective, from 1767 as a type of chair; 1930 as "that may be used in an emergency."

c. 1400, past-participle adjective from fall (v.). Used figuratively for "morally ruined" by 1620s, from the verb in the sense "yield to temptation" (especially in reference to women and chastity), attested from c. 1200. Meaning "those who have died" attested by 1765. Fallen angel is from 1680s; fallen woman by 1748.

present-participle adjective from fall (v.). Falling star is from 1560s; falling off "decrease, declining" is from c. 1600. Falling evil "epilepsy" is from early 13c.

also fall-out, "radioactive particles," 1950, from fall (v.) + out (adv.).

past tense of fall (v.), Old English feoll.

c. 1600, "the tread of the foot;" see foot (n.) + fall (n.). Perhaps first in Shakespeare.

also freefall, "motion of a body where gravity is the only force acting upon it," by 1906, from free (adj.) + fall (v.). Related: Free-falling (1962).