An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/fallen

by Friedrich Kluge

fallen, vb., ‘to fall, abate, diminish,’ from the equiv. MidHG. valn, OHG. fallan; the common Teut. word for ‘to fall’ (singularly, however, it is unknown to Goth.); comp. OIc. falla, AS. feallan, E. to fall, OSax. fallan. The Teut. root fal-l, pre-Teut. phal-n., appears in Gr. and Sans. as sphal with an s prefixed; comp. Gr. σφάλλω, ‘to fell, overthrow,’ σφάλλομαι, ‘to fall, be deceived.’ Lat. fallo is based directly upon the root phal, ‘to deceive’; Sans. root sphal, ‘to stagger’; also Lith. pǔlu, púlti, ‘to fall,’; and akin to Sans. phala, ‘ripe, falling fruit’?. —