Autumn
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2008-07-16T19:04:42Z
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'''Autumn''' (also known as '''fall''' in [[North American English]]) is one of the four [[temperate]] [[season]]s. Autumn marks the transition from [[summer]] usually in September ([[Northern Hemisphere|northern hemisphere]]) or March ([[Southern Hemisphere|southern hemisphere]]) when the arrival of night becomes noticeably earlier. In the northern hemisphere, the [[meteorology|meteorological]] start of autumn is on [[1 September]] and it ends on [[30 November]];<ref>[http://www.crh.noaa.gov/glossary.php?word=AUTUMN NOAA's National Weather Service Glossary].</ref> in the southern hemisphere it starts on [[1 March]] and ends on [[31 May]]. The [[astronomy|astronomical]] start of autumn is on [[22 September]] and ends on [[20 December]] in the northern hemisphere, and [[20 March]] and [[21 June]] in the southern hemisphere. Autumn starts on or around [[7 August]] and ends on about [[6 November]] in [[solar term]].
In [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]], autumn begins on [[1 August]] and ends [[31 October]], due to the [[Irish calendar]].
==Etymology==
The word ''autumn'' comes from the [[Old French]] word ''autompne'' (''automne'' in modern French), and was later normalized to the original [[Latin]] word ''autumnus''.<ref>''Etymology of 'autumn' '' - New [[Shorter Oxford English Dictionary]], 1997 Edition</ref> There are rare examples of its use as early as the 14th century, but it became common by the 16th century, around the same time as ''fall'',{{Fact|date=April 2008}} and the two words appear to have been used interchangeably.{{Fact|date=April 2008}}
Before the 16th century, ''harvest'' was the term usually used to refer to the season. However as more people gradually moved from working the land to living in towns (especially those who could read and write, the only people whose use of language we now know), the word ''harvest'' lost its reference to the time of year and came to refer only to the actual activity of reaping, and ''fall'' and ''autumn'' began to replace it as a reference to the season.
The alternative word ''fall'' is now mostly a [[North American English]] word for the season. It traces its origins to old [[Germanic languages]]. The exact derivation is unclear, the [[Old English language|Old English]] ''fiæll'' or ''feallan'' and the [[Old Norse language|Old Norse]] ''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 the 16th century, a contraction of [[Middle English]] expressions like "fall of the leaf" and "fall of the year".<ref>[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=fall Online Etymology Dictionary] origins of the divers usages of the word "fall"</ref>
During the 17th century, English immigration to the colonies in [[North America]] was at its peak, and the new settlers took their language with them. While the term ''fall'' gradually became obsolescent in Britain, it became the more common term in North America, where ''autumn'' is nonetheless preferred in scientific and often in literary contexts.
==Historic usage==
Many ancient civilizations (such as the [[Amerindian]]s and the ancient [[Hebrew]]s) computed the years by autumns,<ref>[http://astro-canada.ca/_en/a4101.html The Amerindians: Stars were...] (from the ASTROLab, Mont-Mégantic National Park, Canada website)</ref><ref>[http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/display.php?table=jbms&id=170 Multiple Calendars] (from [[Brigham Young University]] website)</ref> while the [[Anglo-Saxons]] did so by winters. [[Tacitus]] states that the ancient Germans were acquainted with all the other seasons of the year but had no notion of autumn — though this is likely to be wrong, especially as a blanket statement (Tacitus wrote about Germanic tribes without firsthand knowledge and thus promoted myths as well as actual information). [[Linwood]] observed of the beginning of the several seasons of the year, that:
:''"Dat Clemens Hyemem, dat Petrus Ver Cathedratus;''
:''Aestuat Urbanus, Autumnat Bartholomaeus."''<ref name="r1728">{{1728}} [http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/HistSciTech/HistSciTech-idx?type=turn&entity=HistSciTech000900240221&isize=L]</ref>
In [[alchemy]], autumn is the time or season when the operation of the [[Philosopher's stone]] is brought to maturity and perfection.<ref name="r1728"/> It is also symbolised by the [[Metal (classical element)|Metal element in Chinese astrology]].
==In popular culture==
===Harvest association===
[[Image:autumn.jpg|thumb|[[Personification]] of Autumn (Currier & Ives [[Lithograph]], 1871).]]
[[Image:Millais - Herbstblätter.jpg|thumb|[[John Everett Millais]], "Autumn Leaves".]]
Autumn's association with the transition from warm to cold weather, and its related status as the season of the primary harvest, has dominated its themes and popular images. In Western cultures, personifications of autumn are usually pretty, well-fed females adorned with fruits, vegetables and grains and wheat that ripen at this time. Most ancient cultures featured autumnal celebrations of the harvest, often the most important on their calendars. Still extant echoes of these celebrations are found in the mid-autumn [[Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving]] holiday of the [[United States]], and the [[Jewish]] [[Sukkot]] holiday with its roots as a full moon harvest festival of "tabernacles" (huts wherein the harvest was processed and which later gained religious significance). There's also the many North American Indian festivals tied to harvest of autumnally ripe foods gathered in the wild, the Chinese [[Mid-Autumn Festival|Mid-Autumn or Moon festival]], and many others. The predominant mood of these autumnal celebrations is a gladness for the fruits of the earth mixed with a certain melancholy linked to the imminent arrival of harsh weather.
This view is presented in [[John Keats]]' poem ''[[To Autumn]]'' where he describes the season as a time of bounteous fecundity, a time of 'mellow fruitfulness'.
===Melancholy association===
Autumn in poetry has often been associated with [[melancholy]]. The possibilities of summer are gone, and the chill of winter is on the horizon. Skies turn grey, and people turn inward, both physically and mentally.<ref>[http://www.symbolism.org/writing/books/sp/4/page2.html Cyclical Regenerative Time - (c) Autumn] (from 'Symbolism of Place', symbolism.org website)</ref> [[Rainer Maria Rilke]], a German poet, has expressed such sentiments in one of his most famous poems, ''Herbsttag'' (''Autumn Day''), which reads in part:
:''Wer jetzt kein Haus hat, baut sich keines mehr.''
:''Wer jetzt allein ist, wird es lange bleiben,''
:''wird wachen, lesen, lange Briefe schreiben''
:''und wird in den Alleen hin und her''
:''unruhig wandern, wenn die Blätter treiben.''
This translates roughly (there is no official translation) to:
:''Who now has no house, will not build one (anymore).''
:''Who now is alone, will remain so for long,''
:''will wake, and read, and write long letters''
:''and back and forth on the boulevards''
:''will restlessly wander, while the leaves blow.''
Similar examples may be found in [[William Butler Yeats]]' poem ''[[The Wild Swans at Coole]]'' where the maturing season that the poet observes symbolically represents his own aging self. Like the natural world that he observes he too has reached his prime and now must look forward to the inevitability of old age and death. [[Paul Verlaine]]'s "''[[Chanson d'automne]]''" ("Autumn Song") is likewise characterized by strong, painful feelings of sorrow.
===Other associations===
In the U.S., autumn is also associated with the [[Halloween]] season (which in turn was influenced by [[Samhain]], a Celtic autumn festival),<ref name="ENC">[http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761572079/Halloween.html Halloween] (from the [[Microsoft]] [[Encarta]] encyclopedia)</ref> and with it a widespread marketing campaign that promotes it. The television, film, book, costume, home decoration, and confectionery industries use this time of year to promote products closely associated with such holiday, with promotions going from early September to [[31 October]], since their themes rapidly lose strength once the holiday ends, and advertising starts concentrating on [[Christmas]].
Since 1997, Autumn has been one of the top 100 names for girls in the United States.<ref>[http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/ Popular Baby Names], Social Security Online.</ref>
==Tourism==
Although [[Autumn leaf color|colour change in leaves]] occurs wherever [[deciduous]] trees are found, coloured autumn [[foliage]] is most famously noted in two regions of the world: most of [[Canada]] and the [[United States]]; and [[Eastern Asia]], including [[China]], [[Korea]], and [[Japan]]. It can also be very significant in [[Argentina]], [[Australia]], [[Chile]] and [[New Zealand]], but not to the same degree.
Eastern Canada and the [[New England]] region of the United States are famous for the brilliance of their autumnal foliage, and a seasonal tourist industry has grown up around the few weeks in autumn when the leaves are at their peak.
== Gallery ==
<gallery>
Image:Autumn-slovakia.JPG|Autumn with a rainbow on the background in [[Bratislava]], [[Slovakia]].
Image:autumn.westonbirt.750pix.jpg|Autumn leaves at [[Westonbirt Arboretum]], [[Gloucestershire]], [[England]].
Image:Ginkgo Riverside, Illinois.JPG|[[Ginkgos]] along Harlem Avenue in [[Riverside, Illinois]].
Image:Autumn colors.jpg|Brilliant orange of sunlight autumn trees.
Image:P1020020.JPG|Autumn in [[Pennsylvania]].
Image:Autumntreeseasternus.JPG|Autumn in the forests of New Jersey.
Image:Treesbyriver.JPG|Autumn in the eastern United States.
</gallery>
== See also ==
*[[Axial tilt]]
*[[Color change in leaves]]
*[[Effect of sun angle on climate]]
*[[Equinox]]
*[[Indian summer]]
*[[Temperate]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
{{commons}}
{{Wiktionarypar|autumn|fall}}
*[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=Autumn&searchmode=none Online Etymology Dictionary]
*[http://www.nyip.com/ezine/outdoors/fallcolor.html How To Photograph Autumn Color]
{{Seasons}}
[[Category:Etymologies]]
[[Category:Autumn| ]]
[[ar:خريف]]
[[an:Agüerro]]
[[ast:Seronda]]
[[be:Восень]]
[[bar:Hiachst]]
[[bs:Jesen]]
[[bg:Есен (сезон)]]
[[ca:Tardor]]
[[cv:Кĕркунне]]
[[cs:Podzim]]
[[cy:Hydref (tymor)]]
[[da:Efterår]]
[[de:Herbst]]
[[et:Sügis]]
[[el:Φθινόπωρο]]
[[myv:Сёксь]]
[[es:Otoño]]
[[eo:Aŭtuno]]
[[eu:Udazken]]
[[fa:پاییز]]
[[fr:Automne]]
[[fur:Sierade]]
[[gl:Outono]]
[[zh-classical:秋]]
[[ko:가을]]
[[hi:वर्षा ऋतु]]
[[hr:Jesen]]
[[id:Musim gugur]]
[[is:Haust]]
[[it:Autunno]]
[[he:סתיו]]
[[ka:შემოდგომა]]
[[ht:Lotòn]]
[[ku:Payiz]]
[[la:Autumnus]]
[[lt:Ruduo]]
[[hu:Ősz]]
[[mk:Есен]]
[[nl:Herfst]]
[[nds-nl:Haarfst]]
[[ja:秋]]
[[no:Høst]]
[[nn:Haust]]
[[nrm:Arryire]]
[[uz:Kuz]]
[[pl:Jesień]]
[[pt:Outono]]
[[ro:Toamnă]]
[[qu:Puquy mit'a]]
[[ru:Осень]]
[[sco:Hairst]]
[[st:Lehwetla]]
[[simple:Autumn]]
[[sk:Jeseň]]
[[sl:Jesen]]
[[sr:Јесен]]
[[sh:Jesen]]
[[fi:Syksy]]
[[sv:Höst]]
[[tt:Köz]]
[[th:ฤดูใบไม้ร่วง]]
[[vi:Mùa thu]]
[[tg:Тирамоҳ]]
[[tr:Sonbahar]]
[[uk:Осінь]]
[[vec:Autuno]]
[[fiu-vro:Süküs]]
[[wa:Waeyén-tins]]
[[yi:הארבסט]]
[[zh-yue:秋天]]
[[diq:Payız]]
[[bat-smg:Rudou]]
[[zh:秋季]]