Chapter 571

(b) To happen; to befall; to chance. "There fell out a bloody quarrel betwixt the frogs and the mice." L'Estrange . (c) (Mil.) To leave the ranks, as a soldier. -- To fall over . (a) To revolt; to desert from one side to another. (b) To fall beyond. Shak . -- To fall short , to be deficient; as, the corn falls short ; they all fall short in duty. -- To fall through , to come to nothing; to fail; as, the engageent has fallen through . -- To fall to , to begin. " Fall to , with eager joy, on homely food." Dryden . -- To fall under . (a) To come under, or within the limits of; to be subjected to; as, they fell under the jurisdiction of the emperor. (b) To come under; to become the subject of; as, this point did not fall under the cognizance or deliberations of the court; these things do not fall under human sight or observation. (c) To come within; to be ranged or reckoned with; to be subordinate to in the way of classification; as, these substances fall under a different class or order. -- To fall upon . (a) To attack. [See To fall on .] (b) To attempt; to have recourse to. "I do not intend to fall upon nice disquisitions." Holder . (c) To rush against.

&hand; Fall primarily denotes descending motion, either in a perpendicular or inclined direction, and, in most of its applications, implies, literally or figuratively , velocity, haste, suddenness, or violence. Its use is so various, and so mush diversified by modifying words, that it is not easy to enumerate its senses in all its applications.

Fall <Xpage=539>

Fall (?) , v. t. 1. To let fall; to drop. [Obs.]

For every tear he falls , a Trojan bleeds. Shak.

2. To sink; to depress; as, to fall the voice . [Obs.]

3. To diminish; to lessen or lower. [Obs.]

Upon lessening interest to four per cent, you fall the price of your native commodities. Locke.

4. To bring forth; as, to fall lambs . [R.]

Shak.

5. To fell; to cut down; as, to fall a tree . [Prov. Eng. & Local, U.S.]

Fall <Xpage=539>

Fall , n. 1. The act of falling; a dropping or descending be the force of gravity; descent; as, a fall from a horse, or from the yard of ship .

2. The act of dropping or tumbling from an erect posture; as, he was walking on ice, and had a fall .

3. Death; destruction; overthrow; ruin.

They thy fall conspire. Denham.

Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall . Prov. xvi. 18.

4. Downfall; degradation; loss of greatness or office; termination of greatness, power, or dominion; ruin; overthrow; as, the fall of the Roman empire .

Beholds thee glorious only in thy fall . Pope.

5. The surrender of a besieged fortress or town ; as, the fall of Sebastopol .

6. Diminution or decrease in price or value; depreciation; as, the fall of prices; the fall of rents.

7. A sinking of tone; cadence; as, the fall of the voice at the close of a sentence .

8. Declivity; the descent of land or a hill; a slope.

9. Descent of water; a cascade; a cataract; a rush of water down a precipice or steep; -- usually in the plural, sometimes in the singular; as, the falls of Niagara .

10. The discharge of a river or current of water into the ocean, or into a lake or pond; as, the fall of the Po into the Gulf of Venice .

Addison.

11. Extent of descent; the distance which anything falls; as, the water of a stream has a fall of five feet .

12. The season when leaves fall from trees; autumn.

What crowds of patients the town doctor kills, Or how, last fall , he raised the weekly bills. Dryden.

13. That which falls; a falling; as, a fall of rain; a heavy fall of snow.

14. The act of felling or cutting down. "The fall of timber."

Johnson .

15. Lapse or declinsion from innocence or goodness. Specifically: The first apostasy; the act of our first parents in eating the forbidden fruit; also, the apostasy of the rebellious angels.

16. Formerly, a kind of ruff or band for the neck; a falling band; a faule.

B. Jonson.

17. That part (as one of the ropes) of a tackle to which the power is applied in hoisting.

Fall herring (Zo\'94l.) , a herring of the Atlantic ( Clupea mediocris ); -- also called tailor herring , and hickory shad . -- To try a fall , to try a bout at wrestling. Shak .

Fallacious <Xpage=539>

Fal*la"cious (?) , a. [L. fallaciosus , fr. fallacia : cf. F. fallacieux . See Fallacy .] Embodying or pertaining to a fallacy; illogical; fitted to deceive; misleading; delusive; as, fallacious arguments or reasoning . -- Fal*la"cious*ly , adv. - Fal*la"cious*ness , n.

<page="540"> Page 540

Fallacy <Xpage=540>

Fal"la*cy (?) , n. ; pl. Fallacies (#) . [OE. fallace , fallas , deception, F. fallace , fr. L. fallacia , fr. fallax deceitful, deceptive, fr. fallere to deceive. See Fail .] 1. Deceptive or false appearance; deceitfulness; that which misleads the eye or the mind; deception.

Winning by conquest what the first man lost, By fallacy surprised. Milton.

2. (Logic) An argument, or apparent argument, which professes to be decisive of the matter at issue, while in reality it is not; a sophism.

Syn. -- Deception; deceit; mistake. -- Fallacy , Sophistry . A fallacy is an argument which professes to be decisive, but in reality is not; sophistry is also false reasoning, but of so specious and subtle a kind as to render it difficult to expose its fallacy . Many fallacies are obvious, but the evil of sophistry lies in its consummate art. "Men are apt to suffer their minds to be misled by fallacies which gratify their passions. Many persons have obscured and confounded the nature of things by their wretched sophistry ; though an act be never so sinful, they will strip it of its guilt." South .

Fallals <Xpage=540>

Fal"*lals` (?) , n.pl. Gay ornaments; frippery; gewgaws. [Colloq.]

Thackeray.

Fallax <Xpage=540>

Fal"lax (?) , n. [L. fallax deceptive. See Fallacy .] Cavillation; a caviling. [Obs.]

Cranmer.

Fallen <Xpage=540>

Fall"en (?) , a. Dropped; prostrate; degraded; ruined; decreased; dead.

Some ruined temple or fallen monument. Rogers.

Fallency <Xpage=540>

Fal"len*cy (?) , n. [LL. fallentia , L. fallens p.pr of fallere .] An exception. [Obs.]

Jer. Taylor.

Faller <Xpage=540>

Fall"er (?) , n. 1. One who, or that which, falls.

2. (Mach.) A part which acts by falling, as a stamp in a fulling mill, or the device in a spinning machine to arrest motion when a thread breaks.

Fallfish <Xpage=540>

Fall"fish` (?) , n. (Zo\'94l.) A fresh-water fish of the United States ( Semotilus bullaris ); -- called also silver chub , and Shiner . The name is also applied to other allied species.

Fallibility <Xpage=540>

Fal`li*bil"i*ty (?) , n. The state of being fallible; liability to deceive or to be deceived; as, the fallibity of an argument or of an adviser .

Fallible <Xpage=540>

Fal"li*ble (?) , a. [LL. fallibilis , fr. L. fallere to deceive: cf. F. faillible . See Fail .] Liable to fail, mistake, or err; liable to deceive or to be deceived; as, all men are fallible ; our opinions and hopes are fallible .

Fallibly <Xpage=540>

Fal"li*bly , adv. In a fallible manner.

Falling <Xpage=540>

Fall"ing (?) , a. & n. from Fall , v. i.

Falling away , Falling off , etc. See To fall away , To fall off , etc., under Fall , v. i. -- Falling band , the plain, broad, linen collar turning down over the doublet, worn in the early part of the 17th century. -- Falling sickness (Med.) , epilepsy. Shak . -- Falling star . (Astron.) See Shooting star . -- Falling stone , a stone falling through the atmosphere; a meteorite; an a\'89rolite. -- Falling tide , the ebb tide. -- Falling weather , a rainy season. [Colloq.] Bartlett.

Fallopian <Xpage=540>

Fal*lo"pi*an (?) , a. [From Fallopius , or Fallopio , a physician of Modena, who died in 1562.] (Anat.) Pertaining to, or discovered by, Fallopius; as, the Fallopian tubes or oviducts, the ducts or canals which conduct the ova from the ovaries to the uterus .

Fallow <Xpage=540>

Fal"low (?) , a. [AS. fealu , fealo , pale yellow or red; akin to D. vaal fallow, faded, OHG. falo , G. falb , fahl , Icel. f\'94lr , and prob. to Lith. palvas , OSlav. plav<?/ white, L. pallidus pale, pallere to be pale, Gr. <?/<?/<?/<?/<?/<?/ gray, Skr. palita . Cf. Pale , Favel , a. , Favor .] 1. Pale red or pale yellow; as, a fallow deer or greyhound .

Shak.

2. [Cf. Fallow , n. ] Left untilled or unsowed after plowing; uncultivated; as, fallow ground .

Fallow chat , Fallow finch (Zo\'94l.) , a small European bird, the wheatear ( Saxicola \'91nanthe ). See Wheatear .

Fallow <Xpage=540>

Fal"low , n. [So called from the fallow , or somewhat yellow, color of naked ground; or perh. akin to E. felly , n. , cf. MHG. valgen to plow up, OHG. felga felly, harrow.] 1. Plowed land. [Obs.]

Who . . . pricketh his blind horse over the fallows . Chaucer.

2. Land that has lain a year or more untilled or unseeded; land plowed without being sowed for the season.

The plowing of fallows is a benefit to land. Mortimer.

3. The plowing or tilling of land, without sowing it for a season; as, summer fallow , properly conducted, has ever been found a sure method of destroying weeds .

Be a complete summer fallow , land is rendered tender and mellow. The fallow gives it a better tilth than can be given by a fallow crop. Sinclair.

Fallow crop , the crop taken from a green fallow. [Eng.] -- Green fallow , fallow whereby land is rendered mellow and clean from weeds, by cultivating some green crop, as turnips, potatoes, etc. [Eng.]

Fallow <Xpage=540>

Fal"low (?) , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Fallowed (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Fallowing .] [From Fallow , n. ] To plow, harrow, and break up, as land, without seeding, for the purpose of destroying weeds and insects, and rendering it mellow; as, it is profitable to fallow cold, strong, clayey land .

Fallow deer <Xpage=540>

Fal"low deer` (?) . [So called from its fallow or pale yellow color.] (Zo\'94l.) A European species of deer ( Cervus dama ), much smaller than the red deer. In summer both sexes are spotted with white. It is common in England, where it is often domesticated in the parks.

Fallowist <Xpage=540>

Fal"low*ist (?) , n. One who favors the practice of fallowing land. [R.]

Sinclair.

Fallowness <Xpage=540>

Fal"low*ness , n. A well or opening, through the successive floors of a warehouse or manufactory, through which goods are raised or lowered. [U.S.]

Bartlett.

Falsary <Xpage=540>

Fal"sa*ry (?) , n. [L. falsarius , fr. falsus . See False , a. ] A falsifier of evidence. [Obs.]

Sheldon.

False <Xpage=540>

False (?) , a. [ Compar. Falser (?) ; superl. Falsest .] [L. falsus , p.p. of fallere to deceive; cf. OF. faus , fals , F. faux , and AS. fals fraud. See Fail , Fall .] 1. Uttering falsehood; unveracious; given to deceit; dishnest; as, a false witness .

2. Not faithful or loyal, as to obligations, allegiance, vows, etc.; untrue; treacherous; perfidious; as, a false friend, lover, or subject; false to promises.

I to myself was false , ere thou to me. Milton.

3. Not according with truth or reality; not true; fitted or likely to deceive or disappoint; as, a false statement .

4. Not genuine or real; assumed or designed to deceive; counterfeit; hypocritical; as, false tears; false modesty; false colors; false jewelry.

False face must hide what the false heart doth know. Shak.

5. Not well founded; not firm or trustworthy; erroneous; as, a false claim; a false conclusion; a false construction in grammar.

Whose false foundation waves have swept away. Spenser.

6. Not essential or permanent, as parts of a structure which are temporary or supplemental.

7. (Mus.) Not in tune.

False arch (Arch.) , a member having the appearance of an arch, though not of arch construction. -- False attic , an architectural erection above the main cornice, concealing a roof, but not having windows or inclosing rooms. -- False bearing , any bearing which is not directly upon a vertical support; thus, the weight carried by a corbel has a false bearing . -- False cadence , an imperfect or interrupted cadence. -- False conception (Med.) , an abnormal conception in which a mole, or misshapen fleshy mass, is produced instead of a properly organized fetus. -- False croup (Med.) , a spasmodic affection of the larynx attended with the symptoms of membranous croup, but unassociated with the deposit of a fibrinous membrane. -- False door &or; window (Arch.) , the representation of a door or window, inserted to complete a series of doors or windows or to give symmetry. -- False fire , a combustible carried by vessels of war, chiefly for signaling, but sometimes burned for the purpose of deceiving an enemy; also, a light on shore for decoying a vessel to destruction. -- False galena . See Blende . -- False imprisonment (Law) , the arrest and imprisonment of a person without warrant or cause, or contrary to law; or the unlawful detaining of a person in custody. -- False keel (Naut.) , the timber below the main keel, used to serve both as a protection and to increase the shio's lateral resistance. -- False key , a picklock. -- False leg . (Zo\'94l.) See Proleg . -- False membrane (Med.) , the fibrinous deposit formed in croup and diphtheria, and resembling in appearance an animal membrane. -- False papers (Naut.) , documents carried by a ship giving false representations respecting her cargo, destination, ect., for the purpose of deceiving. -- False passage (Surg.) , an unnatural passage leading off from a natural canal, such as the urethra, and produced usually by the unskillful introduction of instruments. -- False personation (Law) , the intentional false assumption of the name and personality of another. -- False pretenses (Law) , false representations concerning past or present facts and events, for the purpose of defrauding another. -- False rail (Naut.) , a thin piece of timber placed on top of the head rail to strengthen it. -- False relation (Mus.) , a progression in harmony, in which a certain note in a chord appears in the next chord prefixed by a flat or sharp. -- False return (Law) , an untrue return made to a process by the officer to whom it was delivered for execution. -- False ribs (Anat.) , the asternal rebs, of which there are five pairs in man. -- False roof (Arch.) , the space between the upper ceiling and the roof. Oxford Gloss . -- False token , a false mark or other symbol, used for fraudulent purposes. -- False scorpion (Zo\'94l.) , any arachnid of the genus Chelifer . See Book scorpion . -- False tack (Naut.) , a coming up into the wind and filling away again on the same tack. -- False vampire (Zo\'94l.) , the Vampyrus spectrum of South America, formerly erroneously supposed to have blood-sucking habits; -- called also vampire , and ghost vampire . The genuine blood-sucking bats belong to the genera Desmodus and Diphylla . See Vampire . -- False window . (Arch.) See False door , above. -- False wing . (Zo\'94l.) See Alula , and Bastard wing , under Bastard . -- False works (Civil Engin.) , construction works to facilitate the erection of the main work, as scaffolding, bridge centering, etc.

False <Xpage=540>

False , adv. Not truly; not honestly; falsely. "You play me false ."

Shak.

False <Xpage=540>

False , v. t. [L. falsare to falsify, fr. falsus : cf. F. fausser . See False , a. ] 1. To report falsely; to falsify. [Obs.]

Chaucer.

2. To betray; to falsify. [Obs.]

[He] hath his truthe falsed in this wise. Chaucer.

3. To mislead by want of truth; to deceive. [Obs.]

In his falsed fancy. Spenser.

4. To feign; to pretend to make. [Obs.] "And falsed oft his blows."

Spenser.

False-faced <Xpage=540>

False"-faced` (?) , a. Hypocritical.

Shak.

False-heart <Xpage=540>

False"-heart` (?) , a. False-hearted.

Shak.

False-hearted <Xpage=540>

False"-heart`ed , a. Hollow or unsound at the core; treacherous; deceitful; perfidious. Bacon . -- False"*heart`ed*ness , n. Bp. Stillingfleet.

Falsehood <Xpage=540>

False"hood (?) , n. [ False + -hood ] 1. Want of truth or accuracy; an untrue assertion or representation; error; misrepresentation; falsity.

Though it be a lie in the clock, it is but a falsehood in the hand of the dial when pointing at a wrong hour, if rightly following the direction of the wheel which moveth it. Fuller.

2. A deliberate intentional assertion of what is known to be untrue; a departure from moral integrity; a lie.

3. Treachery; deceit; perfidy; unfaithfulness.

Betrayed by falsehood of his guard. Shak.

4. A counterfeit; a false appearance; an imposture.

For his molten image is falsehood . Jer. x. 14.

No falsehood can endure Touch of celestial temper. Milton.

Syn. -- Falsity; lie; untruth; fiction; fabrication. See Falsity .

Falsely <Xpage=540>

False"ly (?) , adv. In a false manner; erroneously; not truly; perfidiously or treacherously. "O falsely , falsely murdered."

Shak.