Red Ajah Autumn Fair - Autumn Vs. Fall?

[Rhea]

 

I love Fall, it is my favorite time of year. I always find it interesting that some people use the term Autumn instead of Fall so I had to do some researching into why that was.

 

What happens in the natural world during this season? The leaves on many trees die and fall to the ground. About five hundred years ago, when Middle English was spoken, expressions like "fall of the leaf" and "fall of the year" were quite common, and the season name "Fall" comes from them.

 

The word "Autumn" is a little more mysterious. It comes ultimately from Latin "autumnus", which itself is of uncertain origin. In Middle English, spoken about five hundred years ago, it was spelled "autompne" having been borrowed from Old French "autompne" (found in modern French as "automne"). Middle English "autompne" was sometimes used as early as the 1300s, but only became common during the 1500s.

 

Before the 1500s, this season was often called "Harvest". In fact, the name "Harvest" was used for this season quite commonly up until the end of the 1700s, after which the word "harvest" began to apply more specifically of the gathering of crops. Before the 1700s, most English-speaking people had occupations which had to do with farming, and "Harvest" was quite an appropriate name for this season when the crops were gathered in. However, after the Industrial Revolution beginning in the 1700s, fewer people were working on and around farms--in our times, most English-speaking people do not work in farming. So it is easy to see why the word "harvest" became less popular as a season name.

 

(Information found at Harvard.edu. HERE )

 

 

So what do you call it and why?

[Talya]

Autumn is much more expressive then this silly fall stuff...I can fall down the stairs...not pleasant...see Fall no good!

[Nyanna al'Meara]

I say Autumn. I don't think Fall is used very often in New Zealand? I only heard of Autumn called by that name about a year ago...

I'd love to call it Harvest again though - I think that's got a more cultural, more traditional sound to it.

[Rhea]

See...where I live almost everyone says Fall. Maybe it's because of all the leaves falling off the tress. There are lots of them in Minnesota!

[Senexx]

Fall is the term silly people use.

The seasons are Summer Autumn Winter Spring, not Summer Fall Winter Spring

 

Though an American did teach me a useful phrase for Daylights Savings - Spring Forward, Fall Back. I do find it a useful mnemonic in that regard.

 

Unlike the other three seasons, its names across the IE languages leave no evidence that there ever was a common word for it. Many "autumn" words mean "end, end of summer," or "harvest." Some words for it mean Red such as in Lithuanian or Under-Winter (before winter) in Old Irish. Etymology Online

[Rhea]

An American teacher would use those phrases. That is how I remember them too.

 

Apparently Autumn doesn't rhyme well, for lyrics anyway. I keep finding songs that are 'Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall'.

 

Here are a couple...

 

http://youtu.be/bWc7TeCollM

 

http://youtu.be/Q7RPCFfudmU

[Aiel Heart]

I say them both, but I probably say fall more often. Not sure why

[Moon Sedai]

Autumn hints at the mystery of the season.

 

I use fall mostly around little ones and at work.

 

I might actually say fall more often, but I think autumn.

[Rhea]

That's a great description! I think the same way!