Fall/autumn

[RosieTR]

Why are there two words for fall/autumn in the English language, but only one word for each of the other seasons? Anyone know? I was just kind of curious.

Here in CO we are starting to get leaves changing esp in the high country and had our first very cool day last week. Any sign of fall/autumn in your neck of the woods?

[Tussiemussies]

Hi Rosie, yes fall is on its way here in NW NJ. Very cool temperatures at night with the crickets sounding off, which only happens at the end of summer. Cooler days intermittent with warmer ones, a sure sign that the temperature will be changing in awhile. It always goes back and forth between the two seasonal temperatures before it changes permanently.

A few trees have a little bit of yellow leaves. I'm looking forward to some fall drives this year up into Sussex county which is in the very left top of NJ, I heard the fall leaves are beautiful there...

[goldensmom]

Fall/harvest/autumn are all correct and used interchangeable by different people groups. Fall is Old English, harvest is agrarian and autumn came about by the population shift from rural to urban. Fall is a season (spring, summer, fall, winter) as is autumn but I think of the word ‘fall’ as describing a time of year and the word ‘autumn’ as describing a season that includes sights - changing leaves, sounds - Canadian geese flying south, smells - frosty mornings, and activities - garden harvest, football, cider and donuts. I prefer the term ‘autumn’ …… it is softer, much more descriptive and romantic. It was 39° this morning and frosty.

[Sad Eyed Lady]

I am basically a summer person and never thought I would welcome the end it, but this year we have had a very long & hot summer. Now we are starting to see cooler temperatures, especially at night, and maybe a tiny hint of color in some trees and I am so glad to welcome this season! The only sad thing about autumn is the fact that winter will be close behind, and I am NOT a winter person!

[ApatheticNoMore]

Gosh no, it's HOT!!!!


The only sad thing about autumn is the fact that winter will be close behind, and I am NOT a winter person!

Oh yea I hear you on this, I hate just about everything about it, the holidays, the short days, will likely keep the promise I made and take a vacation sometimes around then, so at least there will be that :).

[bunnys]

I love winter when it's snowy and cold. But in Central Virginia we don't get a lot of snow. Last year it was so warm most of the winter it didn't even feel like a winter. I hope it's a lot more seasonal this year.

Today it only got up to 70 degrees (was supposed to be closer to 80, I believe.) Also cloudy all day.

This year I hated summer. We had a 12 day hellish heat wave starting on June 28th that was pretty much ushered in by that God-awful derecho. Even though it wasn't so bad the from about mid-July on, I lived in constant fear that the horrible temperatures were going to return and with them--another derecho.

I am looking forward to Fall really arriving. But I'm going to have to buy some more firewood--soon. I do not have enough to make it through the winter. Also, I have the stuff in my pantry for a pumpkin pie but I probably won't make it today. I do have some apple butter in the crock pot right now, though...

[Rosemary]

Fall/autumn/harvest... I love it. My favorite season, my whole life. Bunnys, I lived in central and northern VA for many years. Autumn was spectacular there, as it is here in Minnesota. We had our 3rd hottest summer on record this year, and last winter was like a VA winter - little snow, little cold. It's also been incredibly dry, so I'm hoping that fall brings some rain for us too.

[Tradd]

Fall/autumn is definitely my favorite season of the year, and October my favorite month. It's odd seeing some trees changing color here in Northern IL, but I think I read somewhere that has to do with the stress on the trees from the hot summer/lack of rain.

[IshbelRobertson]

Here in the UK, the season is always known (nowadays) as autumn. Fall is accepted as an Americanism.

[Alan]

Here in the UK, the season is always known (nowadays) as autumn. Fall is accepted as an Americanism.

Perhaps, but I believe the origin is purely English. http://www.dailywritingtips.com/autumn-or-fall/
Taking the vocabulary of Old English as a starting point, both Fall and Autumn as names for the season between summer and winter are late-comers.
Fall derives from an Old English verb, but it wasn’t used as a noun to designate the season until the 16th century. This use most likely developed from the Middle English expression “fall of the leaf.”
So what did Old English speakers call the season?
Harvest.
The need for a new word arose from a population shift that made cities more important than farmland. From being a word for the season, harvest came to refer only to the agricultural event that occurs in that season.
Autumn as a word for the season came into common usage about the same time as Fall did. The English who settled the eastern American seaboard brought the word Fall with them from the homeland. The English who stayed home eventually adopted the word Autumn.
Nowadays in England “Fall” sounds archaic and poetic, but in U.S. English “Autumn” has those connotations.

[IshbelRobertson]

As I wrote (nowadays) Autumn is the only word used, if you see Fall written for that season, you can be (almost) certain the writer/speaker is either an American or someone who has been taught American English.

Please note the qualifier (almost)!