Where does “befallen” come from?
befallen (English) comes from English befall, from Middle English bifallen, from Old English befeallan, from Old English be-, from Old English hrōpan, from Proto-West Germanic hrōpan, from Proto-Germanic hrōpaną, from Proto-Indo-European ḱer- — army.
befallen (English): past participle of befall
Definitions
- past participle of befall
Ancestry of “befallen”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | befall | To fall upon; fall all over; overtake; To happen;... |
| 2 | Middle English | bifallen | to befall, happen |
| 3 | Old English | befeallan | to fall, fall to or upon; befall; to fall off; be... |
| 4 | Old English | be- | a productive prefix usually used to form verbs... |
| 5 | Old English | hrōpan | to shout, proclaim; cry out, scream, howl; to cry... |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | hrōpan | to cry out, to call, to shout |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | hrōpaną | to cry out, call, shout |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱer- | to grow, to make grow, to nourish; to plait,... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | kr̥- | to turn, to bend |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | ker- | army |