Meanings
nounbyfall (plural byfalls)
plural byfalls
- A falling about; an incidental accessory or accretion; a happenstance; occurrence; instance.
The ceremonies are as it were an income or a byfall.
1575, Arthur Golding, Calvin on Psalms - A fall of water, usually lesser in size, near to or beside a larger, more predominant waterfall.
There was the small byfall to which I have referred; there was the weir proper; there was a broadish lasher, the whole between them making a very fair description of tumbling bay, flanked by strong, individual streams.
1888, William Senior, Near and far
Origin
From by- + fall. Compare befall.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
byfall. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/byfall
MLA
“byfall.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/byfall. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “byfall,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/byfall.
Source: byfall on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.