Monday Etymology Lesson: autumn

The word autumn comes from the ancient Etruscan root: autu- which was borrowed into Latin to become autumnus and means “the ending of the year.”  Prior to the 16th century, harvest was the most commonly used word for this season, but as people moved from farms to cities, we needed a less agriculturally relevant term, so autumn was borrowed from the French, who had since evolved the word from the Latin autumnus to autompne or automne.  Fall is really only used in North America in modern times, and is a Germanic word, likely borrowed from Old Norse. 

Enjoy the day! Autumnus!