English

Alternative forms

• feil, feel, feele, fiel

Adjective

feal ‎(comparative fealer or more feal, superlative fealest or most feal)

1. (Britain dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) (of things) Cosy; clean; neat.
   • 1847, Henry Scott Riddell, Poems, songs and miscellaneous pieces:

     But if it stands in humble hame The bed, — I'll say this far in't, — Is clean and feel as ony lair King ever lay on — and that is mair Than mony ane could warrant.

2. (Britain dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) (of persons) Comfortable; cosy; safe.
   • 1887, Allan Cunningham, Henry Morley, Traditional tales of the English and Scottish peasantry:

     [...] when I care na to accompany ye to the kirkyard hole mysel, and take my word for't, ye'Il lie saftest and fealest on the Buittle side of the kirk; [...]

3. (Britain dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) Smooth; soft; downy; velvety.

Derived terms

• fealy, feely

Adverb

feal ‎(comparative fealer or more feal, superlative fealest or most feal)

1. In a feal manner.

Etymology 2

From Middle English felen, from Old Norse fela ‎(“to hide”), from Proto-Germanic *felhaną ‎(“to conceal, hide, bury, trust, intrude”), from Proto-Indo-European *pele(w)-, *plē(w)- ‎(“to hide”). Cognate with Old High German felahan ‎(“to pass, trust, sow”), Old English fēolan ‎(“to cleave, enter, penetrate”).

Verb

feal ‎(third-person singular simple present feals, present participle fealing, simple past and past participle fealed)

1. (transitive, dialectal) To hide.

Etymology 3

From Middle English felen ‎(“to come at (one's enemies), advance”), from Old English fēolan ‎(“to cleave, enter, penetrate”), from Proto-Germanic *felhaną.

Verb

feal ‎(third-person singular simple present feals, present participle fealing, simple past fale or fealed, past participle folen or fealed)

1. (obsolete) To press on, advance.

   Durst none of them further feal.‎ (Mannyng's Chronicle)

References

• The Middle English Dictionary

Etymology 4

(Not found in Middle English), from Old French feal, collateral form of feeil, from Latin fidelis.

Adjective

feal ‎(comparative fealer or more feal, superlative fealest or most feal)

1. (archaic) faithful, loyal

Derived terms

• fealty

Etymology 5

You can help Wiktionary by providing a proper etymology.

Noun

feal ‎(plural feals)

1. alternative form of fail (piece of turf cut from grassland)