Do you say Fall or Autumn?

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I have a question. Is it Fall or Autumn?

My daughter had lived in Ireland for a few years. She went to College there. When it was September to November, she would say, “Isn’t FALL beautiful.”

To which an Irish friend would say, “You Americans always try to simplify things. It’s Autumn, not Fall. You see leaves FALL from the trees and you say it is FALL.”

So, I ask you… WHERE did the word Fall for Autumn come from?

25 thoughts on “Do you say Fall or Autumn?”

    2. I like that! And it’s funny, because just the other day I was reading about that on a dictionary site, and it said that the terms for the seasons were were “fall of the leaf” and “spring of the leaf” which were eventually shortened to fall and spring. And both fall and autumn were used in England until the 17th (?) century until “fall” (forgive the pun…) fell out of favor 🙃

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  2. I say either word, it depends on context and who I’m talking to. A child might hear me say the word “fall” while an adult would surely hear “autumn.”
    It also depends if I was talking about the Equinox (autumn) or color change (fall).
    It’s all about context…

    I love the colors and smells of this time of year – it’s my favorite
    ~bemore be

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  3. Wait, you’re both right! I use both. The wonderful thing about the English language is the variety of words so we never get bored. This is what I found on the internet. “The name Autumn is from the Latin word “autumnus” which means “fall” or “autumn” or “the woods” in English. This Latin word is also derived from the Old French term “automne,” which means “the time of gathering crops” or “harvest time.” So everyone is correct. Whatever you call it, it’s a great time of the year.

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  5. Interesting topic. The original term when population was more rural was harvest. As the population became more urban, the season was referred to as fall or autumn. I use either term but must admit I use fall a little more. After fall, comes the season of rake and bin. 😊

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  7. I’ve seen “autumn” in writing but I’m not sure I’ve ever heard it spoken, at least not in casual conversation. “Autumn” is the more sophisticated choice. If we ever got comfortable using the word in conversation we’d have to come up with better names for the other three seasons 🙂

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