in the fall
Preserved but no longer current.
In the autumn, at the fall of the leaf. Though now commonly classed as an Americanism the term was formerly in good use in England, and is found in the works of Drayton, Middleton, Raleigh, and other Elizabethans.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Examples
Tatoeba sentence #43510 (CC BY 2.0 FR, tatoeba.org, retrieved 2026-07-31)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “in the fall” mean?
In the autumn, at the fall of the leaf. Though now commonly classed as an Americanism the term was formerly in good use in England, and is found in the works of Drayton, Middleton, Raleigh, and other Elizabethans.
Is “in the fall” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.