feller
1 Americannoun
noun
noun
-
a person or thing that fells
-
an attachment on a sewing machine for felling seams
noun
Usage
What does feller mean? Feller is a very informal way of saying fellow—a general term for a man or boy.It can also be used to refer to a male animal, especially a pet, as in Look at this cute little feller!It’s often paired with an adjective, as in handsome feller or big feller. Less commonly, feller can be used as an informal term of address similar to terms like dude, buddy, or pal, as in Hey, feller, what’s new with you? It can also be used by a man to refer to himself, as in Where can a feller find a hot meal around here?The related term fella is also a variant of fellow and is thought to come from an altered pronunciation of feller. Fella is also very informal. Most senses of feller and fella sound old-timey and aren’t commonly used (other than to sound old-timey or to be funny). Feller is especially associated with rural speakers.Unrelatedly, feller also means someone who fells things—cuts them down—such as a lumberjack.In sewing, to fell is to finish a seam by sewing the edge down flat. In this context, feller can refer to a person who finishes a seam in this way or to a sewing machine attachment that does it.Example: That lumberjack-looking feller was in here not a half hour ago asking for directions.
Etymology
Origin of feller1
First recorded in 1690–1700; originally dialect; by reduction of (ō) to (ə) and merger with words ending in -er
Origin of feller2
First recorded in 1350–1400, feller is from the Middle English word fellere. See fell 2, -er 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Green Diamond forestry crews quickly mobilized, using bulldozers and feller bunchers to carve out lines to try to block the flames’ advance.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 16, 2023
I just spent 10 minutes playing a mini-game called “Penguin Plop,” in which an assortment of Arctic critters jump at a penguin to knock the little feller off a piece of ice.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2020
“He’s your feller and you love him /That’s all there is to that.”
From Washington Post • Jan. 4, 2018
It offers backhoe loaders, crawler dozers and loaders, four-wheel-drive loaders, excavators, motor graders, articulated dump trucks, landscape loaders, skid-steer loaders, log skidders, feller bunchers, log loaders, log forwarders, log harvesters and related attachments.
From Forbes • Jul. 15, 2014
Hildy had a feller, a beau who took her dancing Saturday nights.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
