fell
n. countablen. a high, rocky hill or mountain, especially in northern England. You use this word when talking about wild, open areas of land where people go hiking.
n. a high, barren field or hill, specifically in northern England or Scandinavia. Often used in the context of fell-walking or regional geography.
We spent the whole day hiking across the fell.
The mist rolled down from the high fell, making it difficult for the hikers to find the path back to the village.
The rugged beauty of the northern fell attracts thousands of visitors each year, though the weather can change with dangerous speed on the exposed ridges.
From Middle English fellen, from Old English fellan, fiellan (“to cause to fall, strike down, fell, cut down, throw down, defeat, destroy, kill, tumble, cause to stumble”), from Proto-West Germanic fallijan, from Proto-Germanic fallijaną (“to fell, to cause to fall”), causative of Proto-Germanic fallaną (“to fall”), from Proto-Indo-European h₂peh₃lH-. Cognate with Dutch vellen (“to fell, cut down”), German fällen (“to fell”), Danish fælde (“to fell”), Norwegian felle (“to fell”).
From Middle English fell, fel, vel, from Old English fel, fell (“hide, skin, pelt”), from Proto-West Germanic fell, from Proto-Germanic fellą, from Proto-Indo-European *pél-no- (“skin, animal hide”). See also West Frisian fel, Dutch vel, German Fell, Latin pellis (“skin”), Lithuanian plėnė (“skin”), Russian плена́ (plená, “pelt”), Albanian plah (“to cover”), Ancient Greek πέλλᾱς (péllās, “skin”). Related to film, felt, pell, and pelt.
From Middle English fell, felle, from Old Norse fell (fjall, fiæl, “mountain range or mountain terrain above the tree line”), from Proto-Germanic felzą, fel(e)zaz, falisaz (compare German Felsen 'boulder, cliff', Middle Low German vels 'hill, mountain'), from Proto-Indo-European pels-; compare Irish aill (“boulder, cliff”), Ancient Greek πέλλα (pélla, “stone”), Pashto پرښه (parṣ̌a, “rock, rocky ledge”), Sanskrit पाषाण (pāṣāṇa, “stone”). Doublet of fjeld. Cognates includes: Danish fjeld (fjæld), Faroese fjall (fjøll), Icelandic fjall (fell), Norwegian fjell (fjøll, fjødd, fjedd, fjedl, fjill, fill, fil, fel), Swedish fjäll (Old Swedish fiæl).
From Middle English fel, fell (“strong, fierce, terrible, cruel, angry”), either from Old French fel or from Old English fel, felo, fæle (“cruel, savage, fierce”) (only in compounds, wælfel (“bloodthirsty”), ealfelo (“evil, baleful”), ælfæle (“very dire”), etc.), from Proto-West Germanic fali, falu, from Proto-Germanic faluz (“wicked, cruel, terrifying”). Cognate with Old Frisian fal (“cruel”), Middle Dutch fel (“wrathful, cruel, bad, base”), German Low German fell (“rash, swift”), Danish fæl (“disgusting, hideous, ghastly, grim”). Compare also Middle High German vālant (“imp”) and Dutch fel (“fierce, feisty, bitter”). See felon.
Perhaps from Latin fel (“gall, poison, bitterness”), or more probably from the adjective above.
Commonly used in British English, particularly in the Lake District and surrounding northern regions.