In the Northern Hemisphere, fall is roughly between August and November, technically lasting from the autumnal equinox ( often referred to as the September equinox because it occurs around the end of September) until the winter solstice (around the end of December). The multiple senses of the word fall come in handy for the helpful reminder “ Spring Forward, Fall Back,” which serves as a mnemonic about how to set our clocks for daylight-saving time. The name fall was commonly used in England until about the end of the 1600s, when it was ousted by autumn. The name of its inverse season, spring, is thought to come from the phrase spring of the leaf-the time when everything is blossoming. The name is thought to originate in the phrase the fall of the leaf, in reference to the time of year when deciduous trees shed their leaves. Recorded use of the word fall as the name of the third season of the year comes from as early as the 1500s. Speakers of British English largely use autumn or the autumn season. Today, speakers of American English commonly use both fall and autumn to refer to the season, though fall became more common in the US by the late 1800s. It’s first recorded in English as early as the late 1300s-notably, both Chaucer and Shakespeare used it in their works. The word autumn comes from the French autompne, from the Latin autumnus, whose deeper roots are obscure. An even earlier name for the season is harvest. Autumn is thought to be slightly older, appearing in the 1300s, with the word fall first appearing around the 1500s in reference to leaves falling off trees. The names autumn and fall are both commonly used. Prepare for the dawn of sweater weather with some insights into the origins of fall and autumn-and another, even older name for the season. But what to call it- autumn or fall? And what came first? It’s many people’s favorite season-and it’s the only one with more than one commonly used name. ’Tis the time of colorful foliage, crisp air, the first frost, and pumpkin spice.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |