Autumn leaves, autumn sneeze, fall breeze, and fall trees. Is it accurate to say September 22 is the beginning of fall or autumn?
Both ‘autumn’ and ‘fall’ originated from Britain, according to Merriam-Webster. ‘Autumn,’ however, was the first of the pumpkin spice season names to be invented back in the 1300s, originating from the Latin word ‘autumn.’ It would be 300 years before ‘fall’ was introduced to the scene.
After many poets began using the phrase “the fall of the leaves,” the word itself became associated with the season during the 1600s. The English empire grew over this period as did its language. Eventually, the word ‘fall’ made its way to the New World.
“To put it more pretentiously, there was always something transient, unstable, mysterious, emotionally undefined about autumn and fall, unlike the other seasons which are so well defined,” said Tony Thorne, a lexicographer at King’s College London. “Maybe that’s why people could not easily decide on one permanent name throughout our history.”
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The word autumn emigrated to America and simply changed to ‘fall,’ like many other words that got mixed during the travel and independence of the U.S. ‘Jumper’ in Britain, for example, is what ‘sweater’ means in America.
It all depends on whether someone speaks American English or British English. Although both terms are widely used in the United States, the most popular is ‘fall. From 1800 to the present, ‘autumn’ has been more popular in Britain and the opposite can be said for America, according to Writing Explained.
“Some think that it sounds more simple and honest and rustic, unlike the more formal ‘autumn’, some think that independent Americans wanted to consciously distance themselves from Colonial British ways of speaking,” Thorne said.
The reason ‘fall’ is so popular among Americans is not clear, but it is a less appropriate way to say that the ‘autumn season has arrived. While you might get a strange look if someone says ‘autumn” in the U.S. instead of ‘fall’, both accurately reflect the popular season.