after
Meanings
- Behind; later in time; following.
- Subsequently to; following in time; later than.
- Subsequently to and as a result of.
- Subsequently to and considering.
- Subsequently to and in spite of.
- Subsequently to the actions of (someone), in order to remedy a situation.
- Repeatedly, seemingly in a sequence without end.
- Used to indicate recent completion of an activity.
- Behind.
- In pursuit of, seeking.
- In allusion to, in imitation of; following or referencing.
- Below, often next below, in importance or rank.
- Denoting the aim or object; concerning; in relation to.
- Signifies that the action of the clause it starts takes place before the action of the other clause.
- Later; second (of two); next, following, subsequent
- At or towards the stern of a ship or the rear of an aircraft.
- Of before-and-after images: the one that shows the difference after a specified treatment.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
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/Dutch achter (“behind”), German after- (“after-”), Swedish/Danish efter (“after”), Norwegian Nynorsk/Norwegian Bokmål etter (“after”), Icelandic eftir (“after”), aftur (“back, again”). 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...”).