“befell” is a form of
befall
UK /bɪˈfɔːl/ · US /bɪˈfɔl/ verb, noun
Forms befalls befalling befell befallen
- verb (transitive) To fall upon; fall all over; overtake. “At dusk an unusual calm befalls the wetlands.”
- verb (intransitive) To happen.
- verb (transitive) To happen to. “Temptation befell me.”
- verb (intransitive, obsolete) To fall.
- noun Case; instance; circumstance; event; incident; accident.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English bifallen, from Old English befeallan, from Proto-West Germanic *bifallan, from Proto-Germanic *bifallaną; equivalent to be- + fall.
Webster’s 1913
- verb To happen to. I beseech your grace that I may know The worst that may befall me. Shak.
- verb To come to pass; to happen.
Etymology [AS. befeallan; pref. be- + feallan to fall.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “befall”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details