Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Downfall \Down"fall`\, n.
   1. A sudden fall; a body of things falling.

            Those cataracts or downfalls aforesaid. --Holland.

            Each downfall of a flood the mountains pour.
                                                  --Dryden.

   2. A sudden descent from rank or state, reputation or
      happiness; destruction; ruin.

            Dire were the consequences which would follow the
            downfall of so important a place.     --Motley.

Source : WordNet®

downfall
     n 1: failure that results in a loss of position or reputation
          [syn: {ruin}, {ruination}]
     2: the falling to earth of any form of water (rain or snow or
        hail or sleet or mist) [syn: {precipitation}]
     3: a sudden decline in strength or number or importance; "the
        fall of the House of Hapsburg" [syn: {fall}] [ant: {rise}]