This Season: Is It Autumn Or Fall?

old wooden window and view to autmn backyard with yellow falling leaves

Photo: Getty Images

I love this time of the year! Cooler temps, bon fires, football, falling leaves and all the beautiful colors they bring. My wife and I chose October for our wedding for many of those same reasons. (More on that celebration next month.) The season itself, is it Autumn or is it Fall? I've never give much thought until I read the following in USA Today.

Why do we have two names for the season we've just entered? Autumn is derived from the Latin name for the season, autumnus, and dates back at least to the 1300s. People didn't start using fall for another 300 years, when poets began using the phrase “the fall of the leaves.” 

Nowadays, the difference is basically if you're speaking British English or American English. Brits generally prefer autumn, but Americans favor fall which sounds more rustic and less stuffy.


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