English

Noun

fallway ‎(plural fallways)

1. (US) A well or opening, through the successive floors of a warehouse or factory or the decks of a ship, providing access for material, goods or people.
   • 1940, “School Building Problems Solved by Kernerators”, in American school & university, volume 12:

     In existing buildings where no flue is available either large enough to provide a fallway or located conveniently for hopper doors, a basement-fed KERNERATOR provides all of the advantages except the hopper-door convenience

2. A hydraulic canal, as for a water-powered mill.
   • 1935, Louis Fischer, Soviet journey:

     The remaining fallways are dry; the water that would otherwise beautify them is caught by the maw of the power station

See also

• hoistway

References

• Dictionary of Americanisms: A Glossary of Words and Phrases Usually Regarded as Peculiar to the United States, John Russell Bartlett, Little, Brown, 1877