Hypertext Webster Gateway: "downfall"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
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.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
downfall
n 1: failure that results in a loss of position or reputation
[syn: {ruin}, {ruination}]
2: the falling to earth of 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}]
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