Befall

Befall is a verb meaning to happen to someone or something; to occur or come to pass. In modern English it is chiefly literary or archaic, and is uncommon in everyday speech. It describes events that happen to a person, place, or thing, rather than actions performed by them.

Etymology and forms: Befall comes from Old English with a prefix be- attached to a root meaning “to fall,” yielding the sense “to happen to” or “to come upon.” The standard forms are befell (past tense), befallen (past participle), and befalling (present participle). The present tense also appears as befalls for the third-person singular: “What befalls us is beyond our control.” In modern usage, many writers replace it with happen, occur, or take place.

Usage: Befall is most at home in historical, religious, or literary contexts, including biblical-style prose and fantasy literature. It can describe misfortune or fate striking someone: “A disaster befell the expedition.” It can also appear in generalized statements: “What befalls a man should not be spoken of lightly.” In contemporary journalism and everyday writing, befalling is often replaced by simpler constructions: “What happened to” or “what happened to the town.”

See also: befalling, befallen, befell. While related to the common verb fall, befell maintains a sense of fate or occurrence rather than a physical action.