# Autumn or Fall **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 1, 2001, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/autumn-or-fall/79250 "2001-09-01T03:06:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2001, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/autumn-or-fall/79250/1 "2001-09-01T03:06:51Z")
So here I am in a country where Spring has sprung. Or will do soon. And I got to thinking about the seasons and stuff. And then I realised that most of America calls Autumn “the Fall”. I’m just wondering, is this universal across America? And Canada? Is it regional? Are things ever described as _Autumnal_, or is it transcribed into _Fallish_? And if the former, why still refer to it as “Fall” if it’s Autumnal? Just curious. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2001, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/autumn-or-fall/79250/2 "2001-09-01T03:48:39Z")
I can’t say whether _Fall_ is used across the whole of the U.S., but it is certainly the word of choice around the Great Lakes. I’ve never heard “fallish” (or “fallan”). If an adjective is needed, we _might_ use Autumnal–although in many cases we simply say Fall (just as we would say Spring, not Vernal, Winter, not Hibernal, and Summer, not Estival): I enjoyed the Fall colors. Joe went back to college in the Fall semester. ---
**Author:** ![Ferggie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@Ferggie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferggie)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2001, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/autumn-or-fall/79250/3 "2001-09-01T04:01:38Z")
“Fall” is the word of choice in every place I’ve lived – Missouri, New Hampshire, Texas and Louisiana. But I prefer “autumn,” myself, simply because it matches winter, spring and summer by having six letters. I’m weird that way. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2001, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/autumn-or-fall/79250/4 "2001-09-01T15:30:26Z")
Central New York: Fall Eastern Massachusetts: Fall ---
**Author:** ![Nocturne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9fc348/32.png) [@Nocturne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nocturne)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2001, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/autumn-or-fall/79250/5 "2001-09-01T17:53:39Z")
NW Alabama: Fall My proper aunt and uncle in VA: Autumn Me: Fall AND Autumn ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2001, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/autumn-or-fall/79250/6 "2001-09-01T19:00:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GuanoLad \* > \*\*So here I am in a country where Spring has sprung. Or will do soon. And I got to thinking about the seasons and stuff. > > And then I realised that most of America calls Autumn “the Fall”. > > I’m just wondering, is this universal across America? And Canada? Is it regional? Are things ever described as _Autumnal_, or is it transcribed into _Fallish_? And if the former, why still refer to it as “Fall” if it’s Autumnal? > > Just curious. \*\* Autumnal?? That’s a word people actually use? I’ve never heard of anyone using “fallish” either. People tend to say things like fall leaves, or autumn folliage if one wants to be more high-brow. Most people here- NH, though I’ve lived in MA and it’s the same there- use fall in casual conversation. It’s just a WAG, but I assume the term “fall” is related to the fact that it’s the season that trees lose their leaves, which of course fall to the ground, every year. Seasons don’t need to be capitalized, by the way, no matter which term you pick. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2001, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/autumn-or-fall/79250/7 "2001-09-01T23:00:20Z")
I don’t think _fall_ is of US origin though. I seem to remember it being Old English, but only having survived in America. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2001, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/autumn-or-fall/79250/8 "2001-09-02T00:48:05Z")
When I took spelling at school, seasons were indeed meant to be capitalized. So there’s another international difference in language. By the way, when I said “Fallish” I wasn’t being serious - I know there’s no such word, but I was wondering what the equivalent word would be. ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2001, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/autumn-or-fall/79250/9 "2001-09-02T00:59:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TheLoadedDog \* > \*\*I don’t think _fall_ is of US origin though. I seem to remember it being Old English, but only having survived in America. \*\* How true. The term is to be found in the works of Michael Drayton (1563-1631), Thomas Middleton (1580-1627) and John Dryden (1631-1700). There are probably others as well. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2001, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/autumn-or-fall/79250/10 "2001-09-03T14:47:24Z")
As I said in another thread: **Fall** is the original word in English, which has been kept (together with other peculiarities, such as the pronounciation of words like “can’t” and “dance”) in America. **Autumn** , on the other hand, is a French loanword that entered the language some time during the 19th century IIRC.