To happen to someone, especially something bad or unfortunate that occurs unexpectedly.
From Old English 'befeallan' combining 'be-' meaning 'around' and 'fall' meaning 'to happen or occur.' The word literally means something that has 'fallen upon' a person.
Shakespeare used 'befallen' in tragedies to describe misfortunes—it's interesting that English uses the metaphor of things 'falling' on you to describe bad luck, as if fate is something dropping down from above.
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