# Do you prefer ‘fall’ or ‘autumn?’ **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 22, 2021, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-fall-or-autumn/951140 "2021-09-22T22:14:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2021, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-fall-or-autumn/951140/1 "2021-09-22T22:14:29Z")
Simple poll, what’s your preferred word for the season of the year? I like autumn, probably goes back to dumb childish pranks ‘Have a nice Fall!’ when someone tripped you from behind. _Poll ([view on site](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-fall-or-autumn/951140/1))_ ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2021, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-fall-or-autumn/951140/2 "2021-09-22T22:14:58Z")
I like the simplicity of the one-syllable word “fall”. ---
**Author:** ![MoonMoon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonmoon/32/2959_2.png) [@MoonMoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoonMoon)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2021, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-fall-or-autumn/951140/3 "2021-09-22T22:23:01Z")
Something else: I don’t care. I use both, and it doesn’t bother me to hear either one. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2021, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-fall-or-autumn/951140/4 "2021-09-22T22:25:39Z")
I like the look and sound of autumn, but I usually say fall. Kinda wish we’d go back to the old style harvest. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2021, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-fall-or-autumn/951140/5 "2021-09-22T22:37:39Z")
As above (and I swear I thought this before I read it), I prefer the sound of “autumn,” but usually use the word “fall.” ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2021, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-fall-or-autumn/951140/6 "2021-09-22T22:52:47Z")
My understanding is that “fall” is fairly uncommon in British English, so our British dopers will probably be choosing “autumn”. I don’t know which predominates in Canada or Australia. The OED says > “Although common in British English in the 16th century, by the end of the 17th century _fall_ had been overtaken by _autumn_ as the primary term for this season.” ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2021, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-fall-or-autumn/951140/7 "2021-09-22T23:43:11Z")
I prefer “autumn”, but the practical Midwesterners around me would make fun of my preference so I say “fall” and move on. ---
**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 22, 2021, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-fall-or-autumn/951140/8 "2021-09-22T23:54:42Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/-7_tCO37074/hqdefault.jpg "Classic Sesame Street - Animation with song about all four of the seasons") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7_tCO37074) ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2021, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-fall-or-autumn/951140/9 "2021-09-23T01:17:30Z")
Autumn because I’m English. There’s no preference involved, it’s just the word we use for this time of year. Fall is quite a nice word, especially when juxtaposed with spring, but it’s not the right word in my version of English. I think every year at primary school involved creating an acrostic poem based on autumn. Fall would lead to much shorter poems and lots of use of Ls, probably actually lots of Lots. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2021, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-fall-or-autumn/951140/10 "2021-09-23T01:33:53Z")
I prefer Summer. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2021, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-fall-or-autumn/951140/11 "2021-09-23T01:35:13Z")
There’s no such thing around here. It’s just late summer. I can’t recall the last time I used those words in an ordinary context. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2021, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-fall-or-autumn/951140/12 "2021-09-23T02:55:00Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I like the simplicity of the one-syllable word “fall”. Yes. I never use autumn in conversations. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2021, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-fall-or-autumn/951140/13 "2021-09-23T03:07:34Z")
Coming from a country were the predominant trees are eucalypts and hence evergreen, (there are some deciduous eucalypts in northern Australia) the visual of “the fall” never crossed our radar. Sure the fruit trees and some around the house were deciduous, but they aren’t native. We didn’t spend much time leaf peeping. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2021, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-fall-or-autumn/951140/14 "2021-09-23T05:13:52Z")
Autumn is unambiguous. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2021, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-fall-or-autumn/951140/15 "2021-09-23T05:24:50Z")
I grew up with “fall” but “autumn” is a prettier word. I go with “autumn”. ---
**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 23, 2021, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-fall-or-autumn/951140/16 "2021-09-23T06:14:39Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/dJbp_GjD9VE/maxresdefault.jpg "Justin Hayward-Forever Autumn") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJbp_GjD9VE) ---
**Author:** ![UDS1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47774/32.png) [@UDS1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS1)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2021, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-fall-or-autumn/951140/17 "2021-09-23T06:35:22Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > My understanding is that “fall” is fairly uncommon in British English, so our British dopers will probably be choosing “autumn”. I don’t know which predominates in Canada or Australia. > > The OED says > > > “Although common in British English in the 16th century, by the end of the 17th century _fall_ had been overtaken by _autumn_ as the primary term for this season.” _Autumn_ is standard in Australian English. People would understand _fall_, but the Macquarie Dictionary notes this sense of _fall_ as “chiefly US”. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2021, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-fall-or-autumn/951140/18 "2021-09-23T07:00:41Z")
As a follow-on opinion question, what should be the name for today’s equinox, as opposed to the other equinox. The equinox in March is called the “vernal equinox”. I like that. Vernal makes me think of “verdant”. But “autumnal” equinox sounds awkward. “Fall equinox”? What should it be called? ---
**Author:** ![Lantern2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lantern2/32/3010_2.png) [@Lantern2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern2)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2021, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-fall-or-autumn/951140/19 "2021-09-23T07:50:35Z")
Autumn is the prettier word but fall has its virtues too: simple and direct. Keat’s [poem](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44484/to-autumn) would sound off if it was titled To Fall but there is a great poem you could write about Fall too and I wonder if it exists somewhere. I remember reading an English writer (Virginia Woolf ?) citing “fall” as an example of American English getting it right and being slightly surprised. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2021, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-fall-or-autumn/951140/20 "2021-09-23T07:52:52Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > My understanding is that “fall” is fairly uncommon in British English, so our British dopers will probably be choosing “autumn”. I don’t know which predominates in Canada or Australia. Indeed. We know what fall means, but no one uses it. Autumn also allows you to talk about ‘autumnal weather’ when there’s a bit of a nip in the air. My dog walk this morning certainly felt a bit autumnal. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-fall-or-autumn/951140.md?page=2)