Sep23

falling.

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fall is only ‘fall’ to americans, even though the term was coined in britain.

what do you call the picking of ripe sweet potatoes, apples, squash and pumpkins?

harvest.

that was the word used until the 1300s to describe the next few months of weather.

because “harvest” also meant the gathering of ripe crops, when the word “autumn” showed up in english writing, its popularity soared.

some time after, poets coined the phrase “the fall of leaves” — shortened to “fall” in the 1600s.

the word “autumn” still remained popular throughout england’s period of colonizing the world.

the lack of consistent communication between the english and the people in the american colonies led to differences in the language.

by the mid-1800s, the word “fall” had firmly rooted itself in america.

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and apparently something was again lost in translation

when communicating with mother nature

as yesterday was the official first day of 

fall/harvest/autumn

and our temps in michigan were in the 90s. 

(photo: fuller park, ann arbor, mi, usa)

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credit: cnn news

57 responses »

  9. It wasn’t Fall/Autumn or Harvest here yesterday the temperature was in the mid 90’s with the humidity high also about 77% which is really high for where I’m at. But I am ready for some Autumn like temps soon but Monday is what the weather forecaster is calling for. No matter what is called I’m really ready for the temperature to cool off some. Hope your first day of Fall was a good one. Well I will get the picture another way cause it won’t let me send it that way. ❤

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  10. Living in the U.K. means we have autumn of course. But Autumn is always just that. Fall, on the other hand, calls you to notice all the other things that are on the journey spectrum. I miss fall!
    🍁🍁🍁

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  19. I like analyzing words and different ways they can be used or how they came into usage. I’m so glad you did this, Beth! 😊 I ponder which way to go when I use this present season.
    I like to wish for some other way of saying we have a second summer, but used to like the phrase, “Indian Summer.” I never know if it upsets someone. . . Happy Fall!! 🍂🌾🍁

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