It’s easy to understand how this season came to be known as
fall; after all, this is the time of year that leaves fall from the
trees. Back in the 16th century, the season was known as fall of the leafe;
the phrase didn’t lose its of the leafe wording until the early 18th
century.

The word autumn, which comes from the Latin name for
the season, is a bit older than fall; that term dates back to the 14th
century. Does that mean that the season was nameless before then? Hardly. Before
autumn entered the language, this time of year was known as Harvest,
the season for gathering in agricultural crops.

By the way, although most English speakers in the Northern
Hemisphere consider autumn to be the period between the autumnal equinox
and the winter solstice, don’t assume that’s the word’s only meaning. In British
English, autumn also is applied to the season comprising the months of
August, September, and October.

What about Indian summer, that period of warm or mild
weather in late autumn or early winter? That term originated in New England and
probably comes from the Native American practice of gathering winter stores
during this unseasonably warm weather. The British also call that period of
late, dry weather is All-Halloween summer or Old Wives’ summer.

Send us your queries, autumnal or otherwise. 
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Shawn Dudley is our audio engineer. Production and research
support for Word for the Wise comes from Merriam-Webster, publisher of
language reference books and CD’s including Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate
Dictionary, Tenth Edition.