why do americans call autumn, ” fall”. ?

25 comments

1. It’s when in some areas leaves “fall” off trees.

2. Because that’s how terms work. Both are the same thing like asking why someone would call an elevator a lift

3. Because that time of year, it’s what leaves do.

4. https://www.dictionary.com/e/fall/

   As with most American English , it comes from British English.

5. … leaves FALL down… What’s your reason for autumn?

6. Because we speak English.

7. It sure is an etymological mystery, isn’t it?

8. I don’t think any of us have a good answer. There’s no way your average person could be able to accurately explain our dialect and how certain words are used. We didn’t choose what words we use. It happened over time. It’s no different than me asking you why British people call diapers “nappies” or bandages “plasters”. Doubtful anyone could have the exact reason why it became the popular term.

9. Because when we were British, Fall was the common term for Autumn. Of course, the British sold out to the Frogs and started using their word and now they’re confused why we don’t.

10. Fwiw, Americans also say autumn.. it’s not the dominant term for the season but ‘autumn’ isn’t foreign at all.

    Calling a truck a lorry on the other hand? Foreign af.. never in my life have I heard lorry from an American

11. It’s just another instance of the Brits choosing a new word for something and then getting all weird about us not deciding to follow them in linguistic lockstep.

12. This is something that can be answered by looking at the etymology section of a dictionary

13. Same reason other people call it autumn, it’s the word we grew up with.

14. It’s an available word for the season in American English, and it pairs well with “spring” in the phrase “spring and fall” (which is also the title of a [poem](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44400/spring-and-fall) by British poet Gerard Manley Hopkins, so he was clearly able to use the word in a poem about seasons changing.)

    That said, “autumn” is also a perfectly available word for Americans to use. If I decided to *only* use “autumn” from now on, I doubt anyone would even notice.

15. Why do non-Americans call fall, “autumn”. ?

16. If I recall correctly, it originated in old English. It had previously been called harvest, but they started using feelen (spelling?) to signify the “fall of a leaf.” Fall meant to decay or die, which is what it certainly must have felt like going into Winter. That was eventually shortened to just “fall.”

    Similarly, new life “springs” forth from the ground.

17. Because it’s when the leaves fall off the trees. Why do you call it “Autumn”?

18. I always assumed it was because leaves fall from the trees this time of year, hence “fall”.

19. Because that’s the seasons name.

20. We’re allergic to the silent n at the end

21. The leaves fall off the trees my dude

22. We say fall and autumn, at least I do

23. English words mostly trace back to either Latin origins or Germanic (Old English, Norse, etc), and we have a lot of synonyms that come from both. “Autumn” comes from Latin, “Fall” comes from Old English. Some other examples are things like “anger” (German) and “rage” (Latin) or “lawful” (German) and “legal” (Latin).

24. FALL BACK! SPRING FORWARD!

25. Because the leaves fall off the trees, it’s not that complicated.