Word.ws English Dictionary

befalling

befalling noun: a happening; occurrence; chance; event. Also the present participle and gerund of befall.

Noun

befalling (plural befallings)

  1. A happening; occurrence; chance; event.

Adjective

befalling (comparative more befalling, superlative most befalling)

  1. (archaic) Appertaining; appropriate; fitting.
    • Bountie & largeſſe is befalling for kynges.1564 February, Erasmus, “The Saiynges of Antigonus the Firste Kyng of the Macedonians”, in Nicolas Udall [i.e., Nicholas Udall], transl., Apophthegmes, that is to Saie, Prompte, Quicke, Wittie and...

Also used as

befalling is also the present participle and gerund of befall.

Synonyms of befalling

6 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Forms of befalling

Noun
pluralbefallings
Adjective
comparativemore befalling
superlativemost befalling

Origin of befalling

From Middle English bifallinge, equivalent to befall + -ing. Cognate with Dutch bevalling (“delivery, labour”), Swedish befallning (“command, behest, charge”).

Questions about befalling

What does befalling mean?
Befalling means a happening; occurrence; chance; event.
What part of speech is befalling?
Befalling can be a noun or an adjective.
What is the plural of befalling?
The plural of befalling is befallings.

Words near befalling in the dictionary

  1. befalen
  2. befaling
  3. befall
  4. befallen
  5. befalleth
  6. befalling
  7. befallings
  8. befalls
  9. befals
  10. befamilied
  11. befang

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: befalling (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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