"skin or hide of an animal," Old English fel "skin, hide, garment of skin," from Proto-Germanic *fella- (source also of Old Frisian fel, Old Saxon fel, Dutch vel, Old High German fel, German fell, Old Norse fiall, Gothic fill "skin, hide"), from PIE *pel-no-, suffixed form of root *pel- (3) "skin, hide." Related: Fellmonger.
Old English fællan (Mercian), fyllan (West Saxon) "make fall, cause to fall," also "strike down, demolish, kill," from Proto-Germanic *falljanan "strike down, cause to fall" (source also of Old Frisian falla, Old Saxon fellian, Dutch fellen, Old High German fellen, German fällen, Old Norse fella, Danish fælde), causative of *fallanan (source of Old English feallan; see fall (v.)), showing i-mutation. Related: Felled; feller; felling.
Proto-Indo-European root meaning "skin, hide."
It forms all or part of: erysipelas; fell (n.2) "skin or hide of an animal;" film; pell; pellagra; pellicle; pelt (n.) "skin of a fur-bearing animal;" pillion; surplice.
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Greek pella, Latin pellis "skin;" Old English filmen "membrane, thin skin, foreskin."
This became Middle English blindfellen "to strike blind," also "to cover (the eyes) to block vision" (c. 1200). This was most common in the past-participle, blindfelled, blindfeld," whence the -d was, in the 15th c., erroneously admitted to the stem of the vb." [OED]. It was further altered early 16c. by similarity to fold, from the notion of "folding" a band of cloth over the eyes. Related: Blindfolded; blindfolding.
