# Falling into Autumn

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falling-into-autumn/79110>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 31, 2001, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falling-into-autumn/79110 "2001-08-31T13:55:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\
**Post date:** [August 31, 2001, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falling-into-autumn/79110/1 "2001-08-31T13:55:13Z")

</div>

So, it’s coming up on my favorite season, Fall, I mean Autumn, apple pies, pumpkins, my birthday, football…I really love Autumn…or Fall. And my question is, why are there alternate terms for the third season of the year? I mean we don’t have Summmer or Hotdays. Spring or Crocustide. How did it come to be that we have two words for Fall? Is it just so great of a season that one word doesn’t cover it?

jarbaby

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\
**Post date:** [August 31, 2001, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falling-into-autumn/79110/2 "2001-08-31T13:59:42Z")

</div>

**Fall** is the original English word, which still is used in America. **Autumn** is a loneword from French which entered the English language some time during the 19th century IIRC.