Befallen

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /bɪˈfɔlən/

Definitions

1. To experience a negative event or circumstance that impacts an individual significantly
2. To encounter hardship or an unfortunate situation that befalls a person unexpectedly
3. To have a misfortune or adverse event occur to a person or group

Etymology: The verb "befall" goes back to Old English "befeallan", built from "be-" and "feallan", "to fall". Its earliest sense was literal: to fall upon or fall down around something, the way a tree falls over a path. The "be-" prefix here works in its old sense of "over" or "about", so the verb meant a fall that surrounded or enveloped its object. Over the centuries that physical image faded, and "befall" came to mean something happening to a person, as if a misfortune had fallen onto them from above. "Befallen" is simply the past participle of "befall", the form used with "have" or "has" in sentences such as "misfortune has befallen the village". Its meaning has stayed close to the original idea: something arrives unexpectedly and lands on someone.

Synonyms: occurred, happened, befell