Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1200-1300
Language: Old French
Origin: fel, from Medieval Latin fello; FELON

fell

4 adjective
     
fell4

in one fell swoop

also at one fell swoop British English doing a lot of things at the same time, using only one action:
A single company can close a factory, eliminating 74,000 jobs in one fell swoop.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
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