felled
UK[fɛld]US[fɛld]
v
past tense and past participle of 'fell' (to cut down a tree)
v
past tense and past participle of 'fell' (to knock someone down, especially in a fight or sports)
adj
(of a tree or person) having been cut or knocked down
Etymology
the verb 'fell', meaning to cause to fall, originates from old english fellan, fyllan, which is the causative form of the verb feallan (to fall). this causative formation, where a verb is modified to mean "to make (someone/something) do X", is a common feature in germanic languages. the modern english 'fell' thus carries the direct sense of "to make fall," whether applied to trees, opponents, or other objects. the past tense form 'felled' follows the regular weak verb conjugation pattern in english, adding the '-ed' suffix, which itself descends from the proto-germanic -dō- and proto-indo-european -t- past tense markers.
Analysis
the word 'felled' is a past tense/past participle form of the verb 'fell'. it is not productively segmented into separate morphemes in modern english. the base 'fell' is a simplex word.
Examples
the logger felled the giant oak tree in under an hour.
the boxer was felled by a powerful blow to the jaw.
the storm left a path of felled branches across the road.