English
forcefall
Forcefall comes from Old Norse forsfall ‘waterfall, torrent’.
- Old Norsec. 800–1350forsfall‘waterfall, torrent’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*forsfalreconstructed
- Englishearliest quotation 1924forcefall
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Old Norsec. 800–1350forsfall‘waterfall, torrent’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*forsfalreconstructed
- Englishearliest quotation 1924forcefall
Earliest quotation: 1924, Frederick Spencer Oliver, A Dweller on Two Planets: “For down from His heights, marking the descent by…”
Formed from force ‘waterfall’ + fall
Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- ‘to rise, high’
Latin fortis ‘strong’
Late Latin fortia
Old French force ‘strength’
Middle English force
English force
Proto-Indo-European *h₃elh₁- ‘to collapse’
Proto-Germanic *fallaną ‘to fall’
Proto-West Germanic *fallan ‘to fall’
Old English feallan ‘to fall’
Middle English fallen ‘to fall’
English fall
Every English word from Old Norse forsfall
Today it means
noun A waterfall or cascading torrent.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old Norse forsfall / forcefall