au·tumn

   Show Spelled[aw-tuh m] Show IPA

–noun
1.
the season between summer and winter; fall. In the Northern Hemisphere it is from the
September equinox to the December solstice; in the Southern Hemisphere it is from the
March equinox to the June solstice.
2.
a time of full maturity, esp. the late stages of full maturity or, sometimes, the early stages
of decline: to be in the autumn of one's life.
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Origin:
1325–75; < L autumnus; r. ME autumpne < MF autompne < L
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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Word Origin & History

autumn
late 14c., from O.Fr. autumpne, from L. autumnus (also auctumnus, perhaps infl. by
auctus "increase"), a word probably of Etruscan origin. But Tucker suggests a meaning
"drying-up season" and a root in *auq- (which would suggest the form in -c- was the
original) and compares archaic Eng. sere-month "August." Harvest was the Eng. name for
the season until autumn began to displace it 16c. In Britain, the season is popularly
August through October; in U.S., September through November. Cf. It. autunno, Sp.
otoño, Port. outono, all from the Latin word. Unlike the other three seasons, its names
across the IE languages leave no evidence that there ever was a common word for it.
Many "autumn words mean "end, end of summer," or "harvest." Cf. also Lith. ruduo
"autumn," from rudas "reddish," in ref. to leaves; O.Ir. fogamar, lit. "under-winter."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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au·tumn (ô'təm)
n.

1. The season of the year between summer and winter, lasting from the autumnal
equinox to the winter solstice and from September to December in the Northern
Hemisphere; fall.
2. A period of maturity verging on decline.

adj.

1. Of, having to do with, occurring in, or appropriate to the season of autumn:

autumn foliage; autumn harvests.
2. Grown during the season of autumn: autumn crops.

[Middle English autumpne, from Old French autompne, from Latin autumnus.]
au·tum'nal (ô-tŭm'nəl) adj., au·tum'nal·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Encyclopedia

autumn

season of the year between summer and winter during which temperatures gradually
decrease. It is often called fall in the United States because leaves fall from the trees at
that time. Autumn is usually defined in the Northern Hemisphere as the period between
the autumnal equinox (day and night equal in length), September 22 or 23, and the winter
solstice (year's shortest day), December 21 or 22; and in the Southern Hemisphere as the
period between March 20 or 21 and June 21 or 22. The autumn temperature transition
between summer heat and winter cold occurs only in middle and high latitudes; in
equatorial regions, temperatures generally vary little during the year. In the polar regions
autumn is very short. For physical causes of the seasons, see season.