Autumn, Fall & Harvest

The words we use for the season carry layers of history. Old English had ‘hærfest’, stretching from August through October and giving September its name ‘hærfestmonað’. Later, French brought in ‘autumn’ from Latin ‘autumnus’, with its sense of ripening. And English itself added the phrase ‘fall of the leaf’, soon shortened to ‘fall’.

All three traditions remain in the language today. ‘Harvest’ in its narrowed sense of crops, ‘autumn’ as the standard British form, and ‘fall’ still heard in poetry here and in everyday American English.

The photograph was taken at the Stenöorn Natural Preserve last October — a fitting backdrop for words that recall both the work of the fields and the sight of leaves descending.