after
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Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
after
- /ˈɑːftə/ UK
- /ˈaftə(ɹ)/
- /ˈæftəɹ/ Canada, US
- [ˈäftɚ] Canada, US
- /ˈɐːftə/ Australia, New Zealand
- /ˈætə(ɹ)/ archaic, dialectal
- /ˈɑːtə(ɹ)/ archaic, dialectal
Rhymes with -ɑːftə(ɹ), -æftə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep
Proto-Indo-European *-o
Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó
Proto-Indo-European *-teros
Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep(o)teros
Proto-Germanic *after
Old English æfter
Middle English after
English after
From Middle English after, from Old English æfter, from Proto-West Germanic *aftar, from Proto-Germanic *after, *aftiri, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epoteros (“further behind, further away”), from *h₂epo (“off, away”).
Cognate with Scots efter (“after”), North Frisian efter (“after, behind”), West Frisian after, achter, efter (“behind; after”), Low German and Dutch achter (“behind”), German after- (“after-”), Danish and Swedish efter (“after”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk etter (“after”), Faroese and Icelandic eftir (“after”).
The Irish usage to indicate recent completion of an activity is a calque of the Irish collocation Táim tar éis... (“I have just...”, literally “I am after...”).
adverb
- Behind; later in time; following. I left the room, and the dog bounded after.
preposition
- Subsequently to; following in time; later than. We had a few beers after the game.
- Subsequently to and as a result of. Sucess comes after hard work.
- Subsequently to and considering. I’m not putting you in charge again after the last disaster.
- Subsequently to and in spite of. After all that has happened, he is still my friend.
- Subsequently to the actions of (someone), in order to remedy a situation. I'm tired of picking up after you. Why can't you clean your own messes?
- Repeatedly, seemingly in a sequence without end. day after day, time after time, mile after mile, beer after beer, smile after smile
- Used to indicate recent completion of an activity. I was after finishing my dinner when there was a knock on the door. [= I had just finished my dinner when ...]
- Behind. He will leave a trail of destruction after him.
- In pursuit of, seeking; denoting the aim or object. run after him; he’s after a job; to thirst after righteousness
- Concerning; in relation to. to enquire after a friend; to ask after her health
- In allusion to, in imitation of; following or referencing. We named him after his grandfather.
- Below, often next below, in importance or rank. The princess is next in line to the throne after the prince.
- According to (an author or text).
- According to the direction and influence of; in proportion to; befitting. He takes greatness of kingdoms according to bulk and currency, and not after their intrinsic value.
Similar: post
conjunction
- Signifies that the action of the clause it starts takes place before the action of the other clause. The show ends after the fat lady sings.
adjective
- Later; second (of two); next, following, subsequent I did verily believe in my own mind, that I couldn't fight in that way at all; but my after experience convinced me that this was all a notion.
- At or towards the stern of a ship or the rear of an aircraft. The after gun is mounted aft.
noun afters
- Of before-and-after images: the one that shows the difference after a specified treatment. In the ‘before’ shots, she’ll look like an ordinary suburban housewife; but we know she acts in community theater musicals sometimes, so the ‘afters’ will give her a glamorous starlet image, starting with a very revealing bathing suit shot.
