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Origin and history of after

after(adv., prep.)

Old English æfter "behind; later in time" (adv.); "behind in place; later than in time; in pursuit, following with intent to overtake" (prep.), from of "off" (see off (adv.)) + -ter, a comparative suffix; thus the original meaning was "more away, farther off." Compare Old Norse eptir "after," Old Frisian efter, Dutch achter, Old High German aftar, Gothic aftra "behind;" also see aft. Cognate with Greek apotero "farther off," Old Persian apataram "further."

From c. 1300 as "in imitation of." As a conjunction, "subsequent to the time that," from late Old English. After hours "hours after regular working hours" is from 1814. Afterwit "wisdom that comes too late" is attested from c. 1500 but seems to have fallen from use. After you as an expression in yielding precedence is recorded by 1650.

Entries linking to after

aft(adv.)

Old English æftan "from behind, behind, farthest back," superlative of Old English æf, af, of "away, away from, off" (from PIE root *apo- "off, away"). Cognate with Old Frisian eft "later, afterwards; as well," Old Norse eft "after," Middle Dutch echter, efter "later, again," Gothic afta "behind, past." The Germanic superlative suffix *-ta corresponds to PIE *-to (compare Greek prōtos "first," superlative of pro "before"). The English word is now purely nautical, "in, near, or toward the stern of a ship."

off(prep., adv.)

by c. 1200 as an emphatic form of Old English of (see of), employed in the adverbial use of that word. The prepositional meaning "away from" and the adjectival sense of "farther" were not firmly fixed in this variant until 17c., but once they were they left the original of with the transferred and weakened senses of the word. Meaning "not working" is from 1861.

Off the cuff "extemporaneously, without preparation" (1938) is from the notion of speaking from notes written in haste on one's shirt cuffs. In reference to clothing, off the rack (adj.) "not tailored, not made to individual requirements, ready-made" is by 1963, on the notion of buying it from the rack of a clothing store; off the record "not to be publicly disclosed" is from 1933; off the wall "crazy" is 1968, probably from the notion of a lunatic "bouncing off the walls" or else in reference to carom shots in squash, handball, etc.

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aftermath
1520s, originally "a second crop of grass grown on the same land after the first had been harvested," from after + -math, which is from Old English mæð "a mowing, cutting of grass" (from PIE root *me- (4) "to cut down grass or grain"). Other words for it were aftercrop (1560s), a
further
Old English furðor, forðor "to a more advanced position, forward, onward, beyond, more distant; farther away; later, afterward; to a greater degree or extent, in addition; moreover," etymologically representing either "forth-er" or "fore-ther." The former would be from furðum (se
posthumous
mid-15c., posthumus, "born after the death of the originator" (author or father), from Late Latin posthumus, from Latin postumus..."last," especially "last-born," superlative of posterus "coming after, subsequent" (see posterior)....Altered in Late Latin by association with Latin humare "to bury," suggesting death; the one born after the father is in the...An Old English word for this was æfterboren, literally "after-born." Related: Posthumously....
net
"remaining after deductions," early 15c., from earlier sense of "trim, elegant, clean, neat" (c. 1300), from Old French net...Meaning influenced by Italian netto "remaining after deductions." As a noun, "what remains after deductions," by 1910....Net profit is "what remains as the clear gain of any business adventure, after deducting the capital invested in the business...Net weight is the weight of merchandise after allowance has been made for casks, bags, cases, or other containers....
succeed
late 14c., succeden, intransitive and transitive, "come next after, follow after another; take the place of another, be elected...or chosen for" a position, from Old French succeder "to follow on" (14c.) and directly from Latin succedere "come after,...follow after; go near to; come under; take the place of," also "go from under, mount up, ascend," hence "get on well, prosper..., be victorious," from sub "next to, after" (see sub-) + cedere "go, move" (from PIE root *ked- "to go, yield")....
a posteriori
reference to reasoning from a consequent to its antecedent, from an effect to its cause; Latin, literally "from what comes after...from," usual form of ab before consonants (see ab-) + posteriori, neuter ablative of posterius, comparative of posterus "after..., subsequent," from post "after" (see post-)....
residue
mid-14c., "the remainder, that which is left after a part is taken," from Old French residu (14c.), from Latin residuum "...In law, "what remains of an estate after debts, etc. have been paid," early 15c....The Latin original residuum also sometimes was used in English, especially in reference to the physical matter left after...
alert
"on the watch," 1610s, from French alerte "vigilant" (17c.), from prepositional phrase à l'erte "on the watch," from Italian all'erta "to the height." The second element is from erta "lookout, high tower," noun use of fem. of erto, past participle of ergere "raise up," from Latin
alter
late 14c., "to change (something), make different in some way," from Old French alterer "to change, alter," from Medieval Latin alterare "to change," from Latin alter "the other (of the two)," from PIE root *al- (1) "beyond" + comparative suffix -ter (as in other). Intransitive s
intimate
1630s, "closely acquainted, very familiar," also "inmost, intrinsic," from Late Latin intimatus, past participle of intimare "make known, announce, impress," from Latin intimus "inmost, innermost, deepest" (adj.), also used figuratively, of affections, feelings, and as a noun, "c

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