English
fall
Fall comes from Middle English fallen ‘to fall’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₃elh₁-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃elh₁-‘to collapse’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fallaną‘to fall’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fallan‘to fall’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150feallan‘to fall’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fallen‘to fall’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1593fall
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃elh₁-‘to collapse’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fallaną‘to fall’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fallan‘to fall’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150feallan‘to fall’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fallen‘to fall’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1593fall
Earliest quotation: c. 1593, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]: “Ghoaſt [of Clarence]. […] / To morrow in the…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₃elh₁- ‘to collapse, fall’
through Proto-Germanic *fallaną ‘to fall’
Today it means
verb To move to a lower position under the effect of gravity.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₃elh₁- / fall