Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The season of the year between summer and winter, during which the weather becomes cooler and many plants become dormant, extending in the Northern Hemisphere from the autumnal equinox to the winter solstice and popularly considered to include the months of September, October, and November; fall. In the Southern Hemisphere autumn includes March, April, and May.
  • noun A period of maturity verging on decline.
  • adjective Relating to or occurring in autumn.
  • adjective Grown during the season of autumn.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The third season of the year, or the season between summer and winter: often called fall, as being the time of the falling of the leaves.
  • noun Figuratively
  • noun A period of maturity, or of incipient decay, abatement, or decline: as, the autumn of life.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The third season of the year, or the season between summer and winter, often called “the fall.” Astronomically, it begins in the northern temperate zone at the autumnal equinox, about September 23, and ends at the winter solstice, about December 23; but in popular language, autumn, in America, comprises September, October, and November.
  • noun The harvest or fruits of autumn.
  • noun The time of maturity or decline; latter portion; third stage.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Traditionally the third of the four seasons, when deciduous trees lose their leaves; typically regarded as being from September 24 to December 22 in parts of the Northern Hemisphere, and the months of March, April and May in the Southern Hemisphere.
  • adjective Of or relating to autumn.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the season when the leaves fall from the trees

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English autumpne, from Old French autompne, from Latin autumnus.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old French automne, from Latin autumnus.

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