after

From Middle English after, from Old English æfter, from Proto-Germanic *after, *aftiri, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epotero- (“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 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...”).

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈæf.tə(ɹ)/, (trap-bath split) /ˈɑːf.tə(ɹ)/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈæf.tɚ/

• Audio (US)

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• Hyphenation: af‧ter

after (not comparable)

1. Behind; later in time; following.

   They lived happily ever after.

   I left the room, and the dog bounded after.

after

1. Subsequently to; following in time; later than.

   We had a few beers after the game.

   The time is quarter after eight.

   The Cold War began shortly after the Second World War.

   • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 1, in The Celebrity:

     I was about to say that I had known the Celebrity from the time he wore kilts. But I see I will have to amend that, because he was not a celebrity then, nor, indeed, did he achieve fame until some time after I left New York for the West.

   • 2012 April 15, Phil McNulty, “Tottenham 1-5 Chelsea”, in BBC:

     After early sparring, Spurs started to take control as the interval approached and twice came close to taking the lead. Terry blocked Rafael van der Vaart's header on the line and the same player saw his cross strike the post after Adebayor was unable to apply a touch.

   • 2013 June 8, “The new masters and commanders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 52:

     From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much. Those entering it are greeted by wire fences, walls dating back to colonial times and security posts. For mariners leaving the port after lonely nights on the high seas, the delights of the B52 Night Club and Stallion Pub lie a stumble away.

2. Behind.

   He will leave a trail of destruction after him.

   • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 5, in The Celebrity:

     Then came a maid with hand-bag and shawls, and after her a tall young lady. She stood for a moment holding her skirt above the grimy steps, […] , and the light of the reflector fell full upon her.

3. In pursuit of, seeking.

   He's after a job; run after him; inquire after her health.

4. In allusion to, in imitation of; following or referencing.

   We named him after his grandfather; a painting after Leonardo da Vinci.

   • 1735, The Sportsman's Dictionary

     Work your horse in a calade, after the Italian way; ride him straight, and then you make good use of the calade.

5. Next in importance or rank.

   The princess is next in line to the throne after the prince.

6. As a result of.

   After your bad behaviour, you will be punished.

7. In spite of.

   After all that has happened, he is still my friend.

   I can't believe that, after all our advice against gambling, you walked into that casino!

8. (Ireland, usually preceded by a form of be, followed by an -ing form of a verb) Used to indicate recent completion of an activity

   I was after finishing my dinner when there was a knock on the door.

   • 1875, Patrick Kennedy, Evenings in the Duffrey, page 283:

     He was after walking on the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday before, all the way from the County Limerick, where his brother, Father John, has a parish; and you may believe, the poor man was tired

   • 1906, Lady Gregory, “A Miracle Play”, in The Shanachie, volume 1:

     Mother: Let him get away out of this now, himself and his share of songs. Look at the way he has your bib destroyed that I was after washing in the morning!

   • 2004, Joseph O'Connor, Star of the Sea‎, page 40:

     When I woke up it was black-dark and the music was after stopping. I could taste the bread I was after eating in the dream, as sweet and luscious as any I ever knew

     being+after+washing

   • 2004, Tabor Evans, Longarm and the Great Milk Train Robbery:

     He asked directions to the dairy those milk cans had shown up late at. Corrigan pointed back the way he'd come and explained, “You'd have been after riding past their loading platform because they don't have their sign overlooking where the train would be after stopping.

   • 2008, M. P. Shiel, The Black Box, page 45:

     "Yes. And where were you when the flood broke loose?" / "I would be most of the way to the Old House then. O'Loughlin was after running in wild to tell me he was hearing the Banshee out at The Old House, […] ."

9. (dated) According to an author or text.
10. Denoting the aim or object; concerning; in relation to.

    to look after workmen; to enquire after a friend; to thirst after righteousness

11. (obsolete) According to the direction and influence of; in proportion to; befitting.
    • Francis Bacon

      He takes greatness of kingdoms according to bulk and currency, and not after their intrinsic value.

• The Irish English usage example is equivalent to "I had just finished my dinner when […] .".

after

1. Signifies that the action of the clause it starts takes place before the action of the other clause.

   I went home after we had decided to call it a day.

   • 1915, G[eorge] A. Birmingham [pseudonym; James Owen Hannay], chapter I, in Gossamer, New York, N.Y.: George H. Doran Company, OCLC 5661828:

     It is never possible to settle down to the ordinary routine of life at sea until the screw begins to revolve. There is an hour or two, after the passengers have embarked, which is disquieting and fussy.

   • 1991, Donald "Shadow" Rimgale (character), Robert DeNiro (actor), Backdraft

     So you punched out a window for ventilation. Was that before or after you noticed you were standing in a lake of gasoline?

   • 2013 May-June, David Van Tassel, Lee DeHaan, “Wild Plants to the Rescue”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3:

     Plant breeding is always a numbers game. […] The wild species we use are rich in genetic variation, […]. In addition, we are looking for rare alleles, so the more plants we try, the better. These rarities may be new mutations, or they can be existing ones that are neutral—or are even selected against—in a wild population. A good example is mutations that disrupt seed dispersal, leaving the seeds on the heads long after they are ripe.

after

1. (dated) Later; second (of two); next, following, subsequent
   • 1834, David Crockett, A Narrative of the Life of, Nebraska 1987, page 72:

     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.

   • 1886, Thomas Hardy, The Mayor of Casterbridge

     The amends he had made in after life were lost sight of in the dramatic glare of the original act.

   • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 1, in The Celebrity:

     In the old days, […], he gave no evidences of genius whatsoever. He never read me any of his manuscripts, […], and therefore my lack of detection of his promise may in some degree be pardoned. But he had then none of the oddities and mannerisms which I hold to be inseparable from genius, and which struck my attention in after days when I came in contact with the Celebrity.

2. (nautical, where the frame of reference is within the ship) At or towards the stern of a ship.

   The after gun is mounted aft.

   The after gun is abaft the forward gun.

• As shown in the examples above, the adverb in this nautical usage is aft and the related preposition is abaft.

• afterness
• after-party

• aft
• abaft
• eft

• Andrea Tyler and Vyvyan Evans, "Spatial particles of orientation", in The Semantics of English Prepositions: Spatial Scenes, Embodied Meaning and Cognition, Cambridge University Press, 2003, 0-521-81430 8

• aftre, frate, freat, freta, rafte, trafe

From Middle High German after, from Old High German after.

after (+ dative)

1. (chiefly Early New High German) after
   • 1853, Gustav Eduard Benseler, Geschichte Freibergs und seines Bergbaues. Erste Abtheilung, Freiberg, pg. 251:

     Nun fragte der Forderer weiter an: wer irgend einen von ihnen after dem Tage hause oder hofe, d. h. zu Hause oder Hofe beherberge, wie der ihm zu Rechte bestanden sein. [...] Auf die fernere Frage des Forderers: ob er ihrer einen after dem Tage ansichtig werde, wie oder mit wem er sie aufhalten sollte, erklärte man ihm […]

after

1. (Holland) Alternative form of achter

after

1. (Holland) Alternative form of achter

From Old High German after.

after (+ dative)

1. after

• aftar, efter

From Proto-Germanic *after, whence also Old English æfter, Old Norse aptr. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *apotero (“further behind, further away”), comparative form of *apo- (“off, behind”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈaf.ter/

after (+ dative)

1. after

   after zweim tagon

   after two days

2. according to, in

   after antreitu

   in order

after

1. behind
2. after
3. back

• Joseph Wright, An Old High German Primer

• IPA^(key): /ˈafən/

after

1. comparative degree of aft

after (comparative aftener, superlative aftenest)

1. often, frequently

• Eagle, Andy, ed. (2016) The Online Scots Dictionary, Scots Online.

From English after[-party].

• IPA^(key): /ˈafteɾ/, [ˈaft̪eɾ]

after m (plural afters)

1. after-party
2. late-night bar

after

1. Alternative form of achter