bifallen

Middle English

Alternative forms

• bivallen, bifeallen

Etymology

From Old English befeallan, from Proto-Germanic *bifallaną, equivalent to bi- +‎ fallen.

Verb

bifallen (third-person singular simple present bifalleth, present participle bifallende, first-/third-person singular past indicative bifell, past participle bifallen)

1. to befall, happen
   • c. 1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales, General Prologue, lines 19–20:

     Bifil that in that seson, on a day, / In Southwerk at the Tabard as I lay

     It happened that, in that season, on a day / In Southwark, at the Tabard, as I lay

Descendants

• English: befall
• Scots: befaw

References

• “bifallen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Swedish

Participle

bifallen

1. past participle of bifalla

Adjective

bifallen

1. approved, granted

Noun

bifallen

1. definite plural of bifall

Declension

Inflection of bifallen

Indefinite	positive	comparative	superlative1
common singular	bifallen	—	—
neuter singular	bifallet	—	—
plural	bifallna	—	—
masculine plural2	bifallne	—	—
Definite	positive	comparative	superlative
masculine singular3	bifallne	—	—
all	bifallna	—	—

¹ The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative.
² Dated or archaic.
³ Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.

Anagrams

• bifallne