Befall

Definitions: Befall

Befall

Verb

1. Become of; happen to; "He promised that no harm would befall her"; "What has become of my children?".

2. Happen, occur, or be the case in the course of events or by chance; "It happens that today is my birthday"; "These things befell" (Santayana).

Date "befall" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references)

Synonyms: Befall

Synonyms: bechance (v), betide (v), happen (v). (additional references)

Context	Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).
Eventuality	Verb: happen, occur; take place, take effect; come, become of; come off, comeabout, come round, come into existence, come forth, come to pass, come on; pass, present itself; fall; fall out, turn out; run, be on foot, fall in; befall, betide, bechance; prove, eventuate, draw on; turn up, crop up, spring up, pop up, arise, show up, show its face, appear, come forth, cast up; supervene, survene; issue, arrive, ensue, arise, start, hold, take its course; pass off; (be past).
Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

Crosswords: Befall

English words defined with "befall": Astert ♦ Be-, bechance, Befallen, Befalling, Befell, Befortune, betide ♦ Exrerience ♦ malice aforethought, Misfall ♦ To call a party, To serve one right, To slight off. (references)

Specialty definitions using "befall": Accident, Aluminum, Assassin ♦ Captive, Come to Pass, Commonwealth ♦ Fair fall you ♦ Gallows ♦ Ledger, Letter-carrier ♦ Trumpet. (references)

Etymologies containing "befall": Obvention. (references)

Non-English Usage: "Befall" is also a word in the following language with English translations in parentheses.

German (attack, infestation).

Domain	Usage
Screenplays	I'm a superstitious man , and if some unlucky accident should befall Michael, if he is to be shot in the head by a police officer, or be found hung dead in a jail cell. (The Godfather; writing credit: Francis Ford Coppola; Mario Puzo)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Domain	Title
Books	Erhebungen über den Befall von Importgütern durch Vorratsschädlinge bei der Einfuhr in die Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Jahre 1975 und 1976) (reference) Lest Ill Luck Befall Thee: Superstitions of the Great and Small (reference) No Evil Shall Befall Thee (reference) (more book examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Author	Quotation
Lord Alfred Tennyson	I hold it true, whatever befall; I feel it, when I sorrow most; 'Tis better to have loved and lost Than never to have loved at all.
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus	Whatever may befall thee, it was preordained for thee from everlasting.
Marcus T. Cicero	The injuries that befall us unexpectedly are less severe than those which are deliberately anticipated.
Miguel De Cervantes	Captivity is the greatest of all evils that can befall one.
Phaedrus	Submit to the present evil, lest a greater one befall you.
William Blake	I have no name: I am but two days old. What shall I call thee? I happy am, Joy is my name. Sweet joy befall thee!
	''I have no name:'' I am but two days old. ''What shall I call thee?'' I happy am, ''Joy is my name.'' sweet joy befall thee!
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Title	Author	Quote
King Richard III	Shakespeare, William	Now fair befall thee and thy noble house!
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Subject	Topic	Quote
Lexicography	Devil's Dictionary	COMMONWEALTH, n. An administrative entity operated by an incalculable multitude of political parasites, logically active but fortuitously efficient. This commonwealth's capitol's corridors view, So thronged with a hungry and indolent crew Of clerks, pages, porters and all attaches Whom rascals appoint and the populace pays That a cat cannot slip through the thicket of shins Nor hear its own shriek for the noise of their chins. On clerks and on pages, and porters, and all, Misfortune attend and disaster befall! May life be to them a succession of hurts; May fleas by the bushel inhabit their shirts; May aches and diseases encamp in their bones, Their lungs full of tubercles, bladders of stones; May microbes, bacilli, their tissues infest, And tapeworms securely their bowels digest; May corn-cobs be snared without hope in their hair, And frequent impalement their pleasure impair. Disturbed be their dreams by the awful discourse Of audible sofas sepulchrally hoarse, By chairs acrobatic and wavering floors -- The mattress that kicks and the pillow that snores! Sons of cupidity, cradled in sin! Your criminal ranks may the death angel thin, Avenging the friend whom I couldn't work in. K.Q.
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

"Befall" is generally used as a lexical verb (infinitive) -- approximately 90.28% of the time. "Befall" is used about 72 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)

Parts of Speech	Percent	Usage per 100 Million Words	Rank in English
Lexical Verb (infinitive)	90.28%	65	41,645
Lexical Verb (base form)	8.33%	6	143,867
Noun (singular)	1.39%	1	339,140
Total	100.00%	72	N/A

Expression using "befall": whatever may befall. Additional references.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.

Language		Translations for "befall"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Albanian		përkas (appertain, belong, fall into, pertain, regard, touch), ngjan (come to pass, happen, occur, parallel, seem), ndodh (become, chance, come about, come off, come to pass, eventuate, exist, fall, fall out, hap, happen, occur, pass, set, transpire), më ndodhet. (various references)

Arabic		‏مس (contact, feel, finger, graze, handle, impinge, palpate, tip, touch, twiddle), ‏وقع (be located, come, come off, drop, dwell, fall, ground smb., happen, land, locate, place, position, rhythm, run, set one's hand to, sign, sign up, site, strike, subscribe, supervene, take place, tumble, underwrite), ‏وصل (arrive, attain, butt, check, come, conduct, connect, convey, hook up, joining, joint, ligature, link, make, mark, plumb, reach, receive, result, roll in, show up, steer, touch, voucher), ‏حدث (calamity, come, come about, come by, come off, disaster, episode, event, fall out, flow, go, happen, happening, incident, juvenile, occasion, occur, pass, phenomenon, place, rise, take place, transpire, work, young, youngish, youngling, youngster). (various references)

Bulgarian		случвам се (chance, come, come about, eventuate, fall, fall out, intervene, occur, pass, rise, take place, transpire), сполетявам. (various references)

Chinese		降臨 , 降临 (Befallen, Befalling, Befell), 遭遇 (encounter). (various references)

Czech		potkat (come across, fall in, meet), postihnout (affect, afflict, hit), přihodit se (come about, happen, intervene, occur). (various references)

Farsi		اتفاق افتادن (Chance, Comeabout, Fortune, Give, Occur, Tide), روی دادن (Go, Happen), رخ دادن (Arise, Occur, Outcrop, Pass), دررسیدن . (various references)

French		survenir � , se passer, arriver � , advenir, échoir. (various references)

German		widerfahren (happen), befallen (affect, affected, assail, assault, attack, attaint, beset, diseased, grip, infest, infested, overcome, seize, seized with, smite, strike, to infest). (various references)

Greek		συμβαίνω (bechance, betide, chance, come about, fall out, fortune, go on, go on 1, go on 2, hap, happen, occur, pass off, transpire, turn up). (various references)

Hebrew		לקרות (hap, happen, occur, take place), לארוע (happen, occur, take place), ל�"תארע (happen, occur, take place), ל�"תרחש (come about, eventuate, hap, happen, occur, take place, transpire). (various references)

Hungarian		bekövetkezik (come about, supervene, to come true, to eventuate, to occur, to supervene), történik (came, come, come about, happen, it's all fair and square, occur, take place, to betide, to come, to come to pass, to hap, to supervene, to take place, to transpire), elõfordul (fall out, happen, occur). (various references)

Indonesian		menimpa (affict). (various references)

Italian		succedere (come, come about, follow, follow one another, happen, occur, succeed, to happen), capitare (arrive, come, happen, occur, occurances, recource, turn up), accadere (be, chance, come, come about, ensue, happen, intervene, occur, pass, take place, transpire). (various references)

Japanese Kanji		及ぶ (to amount to, to befall, to come up to, to happen, to reach). (various references)

Japanese Katakana		およぶ (to amount to, to befall, to come up to, to equal, to extend, to happen to, to match, to reach), ふりかかる (to befall, to fall onto, to happen). (various references)

Manx		tuittym (abate, cadence, cadence of voice, calming, collapse, come off, crumple, decline, depreciate; abatement, depreciation, descend, die down, droop, drop fall, fall off, fall out, fall over, falling, falter, flounder, floundering, founder, go down, incidence, keel over, lapse, overbalance, sag, slump, subside, subsidence, tip over, topple, tumble, waver, waver of courage, wavering). (various references)

Pig Latin		efallbay

Portuguese		suceder (arrive, betide, chance, come about, cut in, ensue, ever, get along, happen, intervene, occur, pass on, succeed, transpire), acontecer (become, become of, betide, chance, come, come about, cut in, ensue, eventuate, fare, get, grow, happen, intervention, occur, take the place of, transpire). (various references)

Romanian		se întâmpla (be up, become, betide, chance, come, come about, come of, fortune, hap, happen, hit, occur, pass, transpire), lovi (assail, attack, batter, beat, buffet, bump, catch, clap, crack, cuff, cut, dab, drive, drub, fib, flap, hammer, harm, hit, hurt, impact, infect, injure, jar, knock, lash, lay hands on, lunge at, Pat, put, reach, seize, shock, slam, slap, smite, spank, strike, swat, swinge, switch, tap, thrust, thump, touch, whack, whip, wipe, wound, wrong), întâmpla (be good at telling a story, happen). (various references)

Russian		случаться (be, become, become of, come, come about, fare, hap, happen, happened, occur, take place), происходить (accrue, arise, be, come, come about, come from, derive, descend, emanate, flow from, hap, happen, intervene, issue, occur, occurred, originate, take place). (various references)

Scottish		tuit (drop, fall, happen, set as the sun). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian		zadesiti, postići (accomplish, achieve, be successful, roll up, run up, score). (various references)

Spanish		ocurrir (betide, come, come about, come off, go on, happen, occur, pass, take place). (various references)

Swedish		hända (betide, come, come about, cook, give, hap, happen, occur, pass, take place, transpire). (various references)

Thai		เกิ�"ขึ้น (arise, begin, betide, break, come, cook, tide). (various references)

Turkish		başına gelmek (come over, experience, get, happen, meet, receive, undergo), olmak (be, be situated, become, come about, come off, come over, eventuate, exist, fare, get, go, go on, grow, hap, happen, hatch, have, hit, mature, occur, take place, turn). (various references)

Ukranian		ставати (come), ставитися (stage), траплятися (be, bechance, betide, chance, come about, hap, occur, occur with, offer, take place, tide, turn up, worth), випадати на долю (accrue to, bechance), підходити (approach, become, befit, beseem, come up to, draw on, like, near, nigh, pertain, satisfy). (various references)

Welsh		digwydd (accrue, betide, happen, occur), damweinio (betide, happen). (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

Language	Period	Translations
Latin	500 BCE-Modern	contigerat, contigerit, contigerunt, contigisse, contigisset, contigit, contigo, contingat, contingatis, contingebant, contingebat, contingent, contingere, continget, contingetis, contingi, contingit, contingo, contingunt, evello, evenio, incurras, incurrent, incurrerint, incursu, obtigit, occurrere. (various references)
Old English	450-1100	alimpan. (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Language	Date	Source	Acts Chapter 20, Verse 22
Greek (transliterated)	250 BC	Septuagint	Kai nun idou egw dedemenoV tw pneumati poreuomai eiV ierousalhm ta en auth sunanthsonta moi mh eidwV
Latin	405	Vulgate	Et nunc ecce alligatus ego Spiritu vado in Hierusalem quae in ea eventura sint mihi ignorans
Middle English	1395	Wyclif	And now lo! Y am boundun in spirit, and go in to Jerusalem; and Y knowe not what thingis schulen come to me in it,
Renaissance English	1526	Tyndale	And now beholde I goo bounde in the sprete vnto Ierusalem and knowe not what shall come on me there
Jacobean English	1611	King James	And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there:
Victorian English	1833	Webster	And now behold, I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there:
Basic English	1964	Ogden	And now, as you see, I am going to Jerusalem, a prisoner in spirit, having no knowledge of what will come to me there:
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Language	Acts Chapter 20, Verse 22
Albanian	Dhe ja, tani, i shtyrë nga Fryma, po shkoj në Jeruzalem pa ditur se ç'do të më ndodhë atje,
Cebuano	Ug karon, tan-awa, inagda sa Espiritu ako nagapadulong na sa Jerusalem sa walay pagpanghibalo unsay mahitabo kanako didto;
Chinese	現在我往耶路 �'' 冷去、心 �"� 迫切、 �" 原文作心被捆綁〕不知 �" 在那裡要遇見 �"� 麼事．
Croatian	"A sad, evo, okovan Duhom idem u Jeruzalem. � to æe me u njemu zadesiti, ne znam,
Danish	Og nu se, bunden af Ånden drager jeg til Jerusalem uden at vide, hvad der skal møde mig,
Dutch	En nu ziet, ik, gebonden zijnde door den Geest, reis naar Jeruzalem, niet wetende, wat mij daar ontmoeten zal;
Finnish	Ja nyt, katso, minä matkustan, sidottuna hengessä, Jerusalemiin, enkä tiedä, mikä minua siellä kohtaa.
French	Et maintenant voici, lié par l`Esprit, je vais � Jérusalem, ne sachant pas ce qui m`y arrivera;
German	Und nun siehe, ich, im Geiste gebunden, fahre hin gen Jerusalem, weiß nicht, was mir daselbst begegnen wird,
Haitian Creole	Koulye a mwen pral Jerizalèm. Se Sentespri k'ap pouse m' ale. Mwen pa konnen sak pral rive m' la a.
Hungarian	És most ímé én a Lélektõl kényszerítve megyek Jeruzsálembe, nem tudván, mik következnek ott én reám.
Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari	Sekarang untuk mentaati perintah Roh Allah, saya pergi ke Yerusalem. Dan saya tidak tahu apa yang akan terjadi pada saya di sana.
Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama	Sekarang ketahuilah: Aku ini terikat di dalam Roh pergi ke Yeruzalem, tiadalah aku ketahui apa yang akan berlaku ke atasku di situ,
Latvian	Un tagad, lûk, garâ saistîts, es eju uz Jeruzalemi, nezinâdams, kas man tur notiks.
Maori	Na, tenei ahau te haere nei ki Hiruharama, he hereherenga na te wairua, kahore hoki e mohio ki nga mea e pa ki ahau i reira:
Norwegian	Og nu se, bundet av Ånden drar jeg til Jerusalem, og vet ikke hvad som skal møte mig der,
Portuguese	Agora, eis que eu, constrangido no meu espírito, vou a Jerusalém, não sabendo o que ali acontecerá,
Rumanian	Wi acum, iatq cq, kmpins de duhul, mq duc la Ierusalim, fqrq sq wtiu ce mi se va kntkmpla acolo.
Shuar	Tura Yamái Jerusarénnum wéajai, Yusa Wakaní Túrutkui. Nuisha Túrunatana nunasha nekamatsuk wéajai.
Spanish	"Ahora, he aquí yo voy a Jerusalén con el espíritu encadenado, sin saber lo que me ha de acontecer allí;
Swahili	Sasa, sikilizeni! Mimi, nikiwa ninamtii Roho, nakwenda Yerusalemu bila kufahamu yatakayonipata huko.
Uma	"Wae lau, hilou-ama hi Yerusalem, ntuku' hawa' Inoha' Tomoroli' hi aku'. Hiaa' uma ku'incai ba napa mpai' to jadi' hi woto-ku hi ria.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Derivations
	Words beginning with "befall": befallen, befalling, befalls. (additional references)
Misspellings
	"Befall" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: bafal, becall, Bedall, befa, Befehl, befill, begal, Belalla, Bemal, beral, Burall, Mefalle, Pefull, pesfull. (additional references)
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
	Words within the letters "a-b-e-f-l-l"
	-1 letter: fable, fella, label.
	-2 letters: able, alef, bale, ball, bell, blae, fall, feal, fell, flab, flea, leaf, leal.
	-3 letters: alb, ale, all, bal, bel, elf, ell, lab, lea.
	-4 letters: ab, ae, al, ba, be, ef, el, fa, la.
	Words containing the letters "a-b-e-f-l-l"
	+1 letter: baleful, befalls, flyable.
	+2 letters: befallen, blameful, fallible, fellable, fileable, filmable, fireball, flabella, foilable, foldable, furlable, liftable, tableful.
	+3 letters: balefully, banefully, barrelful, befalling, fibrillae, filtrable, fireballs, flabellum, flammable, flappable, flushable, tablefuls, tablesful, unflyable.
	+4 letters: backfilled, barrelfuls, barrelsful, blackflies, blamefully, fastballer, fibrillate, filterable, fireballer, flabellate, flammables, footballer, infallible, inflatable, pilferable, refillable, softballer.
	+5 letters: balefulness, battlefield, beautifully, deflectable, falsifiable, fastballers, fibrillated, fibrillates, fireballers, fireballing, footballers, inflammable, inflatables, inflectable, qualifiable, softballers, syllabified, syllabifies, unflappable.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.