fall [OE] Even in Old English the difference between fall and befall was that the first was used literally while the second was used figuratively in the sense such as ‘happened’. When we say of a disappointed person that his face fell, we are using an expression which was originally a translation from Hebrew: ‘And Cain was very wroth [angry], and his countenance fell.’ If we say of someone who has given up an attempt that they have fallen by the wayside, we are echoing the parable of the sower, told by Jesus to his disciples in St Matthew’s Gospel. They are compared with seed which ‘fell by the wayside’ and was eaten by birds, and therefore produced no crop. The same story gives us fall on stony ground. This refers to the seed in the parable which ‘fell on stony places’ and withered. In Christian, Jewish, and Muslim tradition a fallen angel [L16th] is an angel who rebelled against God and was cast out of heaven. These are largely negative senses, but a more positive expression is found in fall on your feet [L16th], used to indicate that you emerge unhurt from a difficult or damaging situation. The reference is to cats, which always seem to land elegantly after a fall or jump. Fall is thought of as an American term for autumn, but from the mid 16th into at least the early 20th century it was a standard term in British English too. It is a shortening of ‘the fall of leaf’. See also fell.