Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Short \Short\, a. [Compar. {Shorter}; superl. {Shortest}.] [OE.
   short, schort, AS. scort, sceort; akin to OHG. scurz, Icel.
   skorta to be short of, to lack, and perhaps to E. shear, v.
   t. Cf. {Shirt}.]
   1. Not long; having brief length or linear extension; as, a
      short distance; a short piece of timber; a short flight.

            The bed is shorter than that a man can stretch
            himself on it.                        --Isa. xxviii.
                                                  20.

   2. Not extended in time; having very limited duration; not
      protracted; as, short breath.

            The life so short, the craft so long to learn.
                                                  --Chaucer.

            To short absense I could yield.       --Milton.

   3. Limited in quantity; inadequate; insufficient; scanty; as,
      a short supply of provisions, or of water.

   4. Insufficiently provided; inadequately supplied; scantily
      furnished; lacking; not coming up to a resonable, or the
      ordinary, standard; -- usually with of; as, to be short of
      money.

            We shall be short in our provision.   --Shak.

   5. Deficient; defective; imperfect; not coming up, as to a
      measure or standard; as, an account which is short of the
      trith.

   6. Not distant in time; near at hand.

            Marinell was sore offended That his departure thence
            should be so short.                   --Spenser.

            He commanded those who were appointed to attend him
            to be ready by a short day.           --Clarendon.

   7. Limited in intellectual power or grasp; not comprehensive;
      narrow; not tenacious, as memory.

            Their own short understandings reach No farther than
            the present.                          --Rowe.

   8. Less important, efficaceous, or powerful; not equal or
      equivalent; less (than); -- with of.

            Hardly anything short of an invasion could rouse
            them again to war.                    --Landor.

   9. Abrupt; brief; pointed; petulant; as, he gave a short
      answer to the question.

   10. (Cookery) Breaking or crumbling readily in the mouth;
       crisp; as, short pastry.

   11. (Metal) Brittle.

   Note: Metals that are brittle when hot are called ?ot-short;
         as, cast iron may be hot-short, owing to the presence
         of sulphur. Those that are brittle when cold are called
         cold-short; as, cast iron may be cold-short, on account
         of the presence of phosphorus.

   12. (Stock Exchange) Engaging or engaged to deliver what is
       not possessed; as, short contracts; to be short of stock.
       See The shorts, under {Short}, n., and To sell short,
       under {Short}, adv.

   Note: In mercantile transactions, a note or bill is sometimes
         made payable at short sight, that is, in a little time
         after being presented to the payer.

   13. (Phon.) Not prolonged, or relatively less prolonged, in
       utterance; -- opposed to {long}, and applied to vowels or
       to syllables. In English, the long and short of the same
       letter are not, in most cases, the long and short of the
       same sound; thus, the i in ill is the short sound, not of
       i in isle, but of ee in eel, and the e in pet is the
       short sound of a in pate, etc. See {Quantity}, and Guide
       to Pronunciation, [sect][sect]22, 30.

   Note: Short is much used with participles to form numerous
         self-explaining compounds; as, short-armed,
         short-billed, short-fingered, short-haired,
         short-necked, short-sleeved, short-tailed,
         short-winged, short-wooled, etc.

   {At short notice}, in a brief time; promptly.

   {Short rib} (Anat.), one of the false ribs.

   {Short suit} (Whist), any suit having only three cards, or
      less than three. --R. A. Proctor.

   {To come short}, {To cut short}, {To fall short}, etc. See
      under {Come}, {Cut}, etc.

Fall \Fall\ (f[add]l), v. i. [imp. {Fell}; p. p. {Fallen}; p.
   pr. & vb. n. {Falling}.] [AS. feallan; akin to D. vallen, OS.
   & OHG. fallan, G. fallen, Icel. Falla, Sw. falla, Dan. falde,
   Lith. pulti, L. fallere to deceive, Gr. sfa`llein to cause to
   fall, Skr. sphal, sphul, to tremble. Cf. {Fail}, {Fell}, v.
   t., to cause to fall.]
   1. To Descend, either suddenly or gradually; particularly, to
      descend by the force of gravity; to drop; to sink; as, the
      apple falls; the tide falls; the mercury falls in the
      barometer.

            I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. --Luke
                                                  x. 18.

   2. To cease to be erect; to take suddenly a recumbent
      posture; to become prostrate; to drop; as, a child totters
      and falls; a tree falls; a worshiper falls on his knees.

            I fell at his feet to worship him.    --Rev. xix.
                                                  10.

   3. To find a final outlet; to discharge its waters; to empty;
      -- with into; as, the river Rhone falls into the
      Mediterranean.

   4. To become prostrate and dead; to die; especially, to die
      by violence, as in battle.

            A thousand shall fall at thy side.    --Ps. xci. 7.

            He rushed into the field, and, foremost fighting,
            fell.                                 --Byron.

   5. To cease to be active or strong; to die away; to lose
      strength; to subside; to become less intense; as, the wind
      falls.

   6. To issue forth into life; to be brought forth; -- said of
      the young of certain animals. --Shak.

   7. To decline in power, glory, wealth, or importance; to
      become insignificant; to lose rank or position; to decline
      in weight, value, price etc.; to become less; as, the
      falls; stocks fell two points.

            I am a poor falle man, unworthy now To be thy lord
            and master.                           --Shak.

            The greatness of these Irish lords suddenly fell and
            vanished.                             --Sir J.
                                                  Davies.

   8. To be overthrown or captured; to be destroyed.

            Heaven and earth will witness, If Rome must fall,
            that we are innocent.                 --Addison.

   9. To descend in character or reputation; to become degraded;
      to sink into vice, error, or sin; to depart from the
      faith; to apostatize; to sin.

            Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest
            any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
                                                  --Heb. iv. 11.

   10. To become insnared or embarrassed; to be entrapped; to be
       worse off than before; asm to fall into error; to fall
       into difficulties.

   11. To assume a look of shame or disappointment; to become or
       appear dejected; -- said of the countenance.

             Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
                                                  --Gen. iv. 5.

             I have observed of late thy looks are fallen.
                                                  --Addison.

   12. To sink; to languish; to become feeble or faint; as, our
       spirits rise and fall with our fortunes.

   13. To pass somewhat suddenly, and passively, into a new
       state of body or mind; to become; as, to fall asleep; to
       fall into a passion; to fall in love; to fall into
       temptation.

   14. To happen; to to come to pass; to light; to befall; to
       issue; to terminate.

             The Romans fell on this model by chance. --Swift.

             Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the
             matter will fall.                    --Ruth. iii.
                                                  18.

             They do not make laws, they fall into customs. --H.
                                                  Spencer.

   15. To come; to occur; to arrive.

             The vernal equinox, which at the Nicene Council
             fell on the 21st of March, falls now [1694] about
             ten days sooner.                     --Holder.

   16. To begin with haste, ardor, or vehemence; to rush or
       hurry; as, they fell to blows.

             They now no longer doubted, but fell to work heart
             and soul.                            --Jowett
                                                  (Thucyd. ).

   17. To pass or be transferred by chance, lot, distribution,
       inheritance, or otherwise; as, the estate fell to his
       brother; the kingdom fell into the hands of his rivals.

   18. To belong or appertain.

             If to her share some female errors fall, Look on
             her face, and you'll forget them all. --Pope.

   19. To be dropped or uttered carelessly; as, an unguarded
       expression fell from his lips; not a murmur fell from
       him.

   {To fall abroad of} (Naut.), to strike against; -- applied to
      one vessel coming into collision with another.

   {To fall among}, to come among accidentally or unexpectedly.
      

   {To fall astern} (Naut.), to move or be driven backward; to
      be left behind; as, a ship falls astern by the force of a
      current, or when outsailed by another.

   {To fall away}.
       (a) To lose flesh; to become lean or emaciated; to pine.
       (b) To renounce or desert allegiance; to revolt or rebel.
       (c) To renounce or desert the faith; to apostatize.
           ``These . . . for a while believe, and in time of
           temptation fall away.'' --Luke viii. 13.
       (d) To perish; to vanish; to be lost. ``How . . . can the
           soul . . . fall away into nothing?'' --Addison.
       (e) To decline gradually; to fade; to languish, or become
           faint. ``One color falls away by just degrees, and
           another rises insensibly.'' --Addison.

   {To fall back}.
       (a) To recede or retreat; to give way.
       (b) To fail of performing a promise or purpose; not to
           fulfill.

   {To fall back upon}.
       (a) (Mil.) To retreat for safety to (a stronger position
           in the rear, as to a fort or a supporting body of
           troops).
       (b) To have recourse to (a reserved fund, or some
           available expedient or support).

   {To fall calm}, to cease to blow; to become calm.

   {To fall down}.
       (a) To prostrate one's self in worship. ``All kings shall
           fall down before him.'' --Ps. lxxii. 11.
       (b) To sink; to come to the ground. ``Down fell the
           beauteous youth.'' --Dryden.
       (c) To bend or bow, as a suppliant.
       (d) (Naut.) To sail or drift toward the mouth of a river
           or other outlet.

   {To fall flat}, to produce no response or result; to fail of
      the intended effect; as, his speech fell flat.

   {To fall foul of}.
       (a) (Naut.) To have a collision with; to become entangled
           with
       (b) To attack; to make an assault upon.

   {To fall from}, to recede or depart from; not to adhere to;
      as, to fall from an agreement or engagement; to fall from
      allegiance or duty.

   {To fall from grace} (M. E. Ch.), to sin; to withdraw from
      the faith.

   {To fall home} (Ship Carp.), to curve inward; -- said of the
      timbers or upper parts of a ship's side which are much
      within a perpendicular.

   {To fall in}.
       (a) To sink inwards; as, the roof fell in.
       (b) (Mil.) To take one's proper or assigned place in
           line; as, to fall in on the right.
       (c) To come to an end; to terminate; to lapse; as, on the
           death of Mr. B., the annuuity, which he had so long
           received, fell in.
       (d) To become operative. ``The reversion, to which he had
           been nominated twenty years before, fell in.''
           --Macaulay.

   {To fall into one's hands}, to pass, often suddenly or
      unexpectedly, into one's ownership or control; as, to
      spike cannon when they are likely to fall into the hands
      of the enemy.

   {To fall in with}.
       (a) To meet with accidentally; as, to fall in with a
           friend.
       (b) (Naut.) To meet, as a ship; also, to discover or come
           near, as land.
       (c) To concur with; to agree with; as, the measure falls
           in with popular opinion.
       (d) To comply; to yield to. ``You will find it difficult
           to persuade learned men to fall in with your
           projects.'' --Addison.

   {To fall off}.
       (a) To drop; as, fruits fall off when ripe.
       (b) To withdraw; to separate; to become detached; as,
           friends fall off in adversity. ``Love cools,
           friendship falls off, brothers divide.'' --Shak.
       (c) To perish; to die away; as, words fall off by disuse.
       (d) To apostatize; to forsake; to withdraw from the
           faith, or from allegiance or duty.

                 Those captive tribes . . . fell off From God to
                 worship calves.                  --Milton.
       (e) To forsake; to abandon; as, his customers fell off.
       (f) To depreciate; to change for the worse; to
           deteriorate; to become less valuable, abundant, or
           interesting; as, a falling off in the wheat crop; the
           magazine or the review falls off. ``O Hamlet, what a
           falling off was there!'' --Shak.
       (g) (Naut.) To deviate or trend to the leeward of the
           point to which the head of the ship was before
           directed; to fall to leeward.

   {To fall on}.
       (a) To meet with; to light upon; as, we have fallen on
           evil days.
       (b) To begin suddenly and eagerly. ``Fall on, and try the
           appetite to eat.'' --Dryden.
       (c) To begin an attack; to assault; to assail. ``Fall on,
           fall on, and hear him not.'' --Dryden.
       (d) To drop on; to descend on.

   {To fall out}.
       (a) To quarrel; to begin to contend.

                 A soul exasperated in ills falls out With
                 everything, its friend, itself.  --Addison.
       (b) To happen; to befall; to chance. ``There fell out a
           bloody quarrel betwixt the frogs and the mice.''
           --L'Estrange.
       (c) (Mil.) To leave the ranks, as a soldier.

   {To fall over}.
       (a) To revolt; to desert from one side to another.
       (b) To fall beyond. --Shak.

   {To fall short}, to be deficient; as, the corn falls short;
      they all fall short in duty.

   {To fall through}, to come to nothing; to fail; as, the
      engageent has fallen through.

   {To fall to}, to begin. ``Fall to, with eager joy, on homely
      food.'' --Dryden.

   {To fall under}.
       (a) To come under, or within the limits of; to be
           subjected to; as, they fell under the jurisdiction of
           the emperor.
       (b) To come under; to become the subject of; as, this
           point did not fall under the cognizance or
           deliberations of the court; these things do not fall
           under human sight or observation.
       (c) To come within; to be ranged or reckoned with; to be
           subordinate to in the way of classification; as,
           these substances fall under a different class or
           order.

   {To fall upon}.
       (a) To attack. [See {To fall on}.]
       (b) To attempt; to have recourse to. ``I do not intend to
           fall upon nice disquisitions.'' --Holder.
       (c) To rush against.

   Note: Fall primarily denotes descending motion, either in a
         perpendicular or inclined direction, and, in most of
         its applications, implies, literally or figuratively,
         velocity, haste, suddenness, or violence. Its use is so
         various, and so mush diversified by modifying words,
         that it is not easy to enumerate its senses in all its
         applications.