"fallen" definition, meaning, and origin

Adjective

Having dropped by the force of gravity.
- fallen raindrops
Killed, especially in battle.
- a ceremony to honor fallen soldiers
- the disposal of fallen livestock
- We will face the problems of peace with the same courage that we have faced and mastered the problems of war. In the memory of those that have made the supreme sacrifice, in the memory of our fallen president, we shall...
Having lost one's chastity.
- a fallen woman
- Madam Julia was the town's ranking prostitute; virtuous female society demanded that they not suffer the unbearable pain of looking at, and being in company with, a fallen woman— one of the happiest, fallenest women in...
- "You make yourself out to be the fallenest of fallen women." Tilting her head toward Sharon, Debbie grinned. "Let's face it. There can't be winners without losers, and I'm a loser. But look at it this way. I make it...
Having collapsed.
- a fallen building
Having lost prestige, (Christian) grace, etc.
- That fallenest of our fallen race has left town — said to be near Fontainebleau by some, in Italy by others. More consequent with himself than usual, he is fulfilling, in the only possible way left open to him, his...

Morphologically fall + -en.

The dead.
Casualties of battle or war.
One who has fallen, as from grace.
- In the Augustinian period, however, sin was held to be a death-inflicting agent, implying that the fallen was dead, and had to be restored to life. - 1873, James Strong with John McClintock, Cyclopaedia of Biblical,...