Editing Autumn (section)

==Etymology==
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The word ''autumn'' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɔː|t|ə|m}}) is derived from Latin ''autumnus'', archaic ''auctumnus'', possibly from the ancient [[Etruscan language|Etruscan]] root ''autu-'' and has within it connotations of the passing of the year.<ref>{{cite book|last=Breyer|first=Gertraud|title=Etruskisches Sprachgut im Lateinischen unter Ausschluss des spezifisch onomastischen Bereiches|year=1993|publisher=Peeters Publishers|isbn=90-6831-335-5|pages=412–413|language=de}}</ref> Alternative etymologies include {{langx|ine-x-proto|*h₃ewǵ-||cold}}) or {{lang|ine-x-proto|*h₂sows-}} ('dry').<ref>Tucker, T.G., Etymological Dictionary of Latin, Ares Publishers, 1976 (reprint of 1931 edition).</ref>

After the Greek era, the word continued to be used as the [[Old French]] word {{lang|fro|autompne}} ({{lang|fr|automne}} in [[modern French]]) or {{lang|enm|autumpne}} in Middle English,<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd Edition, entry at ''automn''.</ref> and was later normalised to the original Latin. In the [[Medieval]] period, there are rare examples of its use as early as the 12th century, but by the 16th century, it was in common use.

Before the 16th century, ''[[harvest]]'' was the term usually used to refer to the season, as it is common in other [[West Germanic languages]] to this day ([[cf.]] Dutch {{lang|nl|herfst}}, German {{lang|de|Herbst}}, and Scots {{lang|sco|hairst}}). However, as more people gradually moved from working the land to living in towns, the word ''harvest'' lost its reference to the time of year and came to refer only to the actual activity of reaping, and ''autumn'', as well as ''fall'', began to replace it as a reference to the season.<ref>{{OEtymD|harvest}}</ref><ref>{{OEtymD|autumn}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=August 2020}}

The alternative word ''fall'' for the season traces its origins to old [[Germanic languages]]. The exact derivation is unclear, with the [[Old English language|Old English]] {{lang|ang|fiæll}} or {{lang|ang|feallan}} and the [[Old Norse language|Old Norse]] {{lang|non|fall}} all being possible candidates. However, these words all have the meaning "to fall from a height" and are clearly derived either from a common root or from each other. The term came to denote the season in [[16th-century England]], a contraction of [[Middle English]] expressions like "[[Abscission|fall of the leaf]]" and "fall of the year". Compare the origin of ''spring'' from "spring of the leaf" and "spring of the year".<ref>Little, William et al.: ''The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary'', Oxford at the Clarendon Press, 1959 edition reprinted with corrections. The phrase "fall of the leaf" was first found in print in 1545 (volume I, page 670), and the usage of "fall" in this sense is noted as "Now rare in [British] English literary use." The phrase "spring of the year" first appeared in print in 1530 (volume II, p. 1983).</ref>

During the 17th century, English settlers began emigrating to the [[British colonization of the Americas|new North American colonies]], and took the English language with them. While the term ''fall'' gradually became nearly obsolete in Britain, it became the more common term in North America.<ref>{{cite web |title=Is It 'Autumn' or 'Fall'? |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/autumn-vs-fall |website=Merriam Webster |access-date=23 September 2019}}</ref>

The name ''backend'', a once common name for the season in [[Northern England]], has today been largely replaced by the name ''autumn''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Revealed: How London accents have killed off local dialects across England|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2016/05/26/revealed-how-london-accents-have-killed-off-local-dialects-acros/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2016/05/26/revealed-how-london-accents-have-killed-off-local-dialects-acros/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=27 May 2016|work=The Telegraph}}{{cbignore}}</ref>