I. ˈaftə(r), ˈaa-, ˈai-, ˈȧ-, +V sometimes -ftr as in ˈaftrim for “after him” adverb
Etymology: Middle English after, efter, from Old English æfter; akin to Old High German aftar after, Old Norse eptir after, aptr back, Gothic aftaro from behind, aftra backwards, and perhaps to Sanskrit apataram farther away, Old Persian, elsewhere, and perhaps to Old English of of, from, off — more at of
: following in time or place : afterward , behind
we arrived shortly after
in Chaucer's day and for long after — G.M.Trevelyan
along came a fox with the hounds following after
II. preposition
Etymology: Middle English after, efter, from Old English æfter, from æfter, adverb
1. — used as a function word to indicate the object or goal of a stated or implied action
my soul thirsteth after thee — Ps 143:6 (Authorized Version)
women go after causes harder than men do — Paul Engle
he was too greedy after the treasures — Van Wyck Brooks
it's serious work I'm after — Maurice Hewlett
2.
a. : behind in place or time
men in line one after another
wave after wave beat on the shore
the rains continued day after day
b. : below in rank : next in order to
the richest and most splendid church in England after Westminster Abbey — Henry Riddell
after money, the biggest problem is personnel — Time
3.
a.
(1) : later than a particular time or period of time : following the expiration of
20 minutes after 4
at a quarter after 8
it's half after 6
events occurring after 1940
after three days
condition of roads after the snow storm
(2) : immediately following but not necessarily including the day, period, or date of event named
thirty days after April 1
two months after July
ten days after sight of a draft
b.
(1) : subsequent to and in consequence of
after what you have told me, I'll be careful
net income after taxes
(2) : subsequent to and notwithstanding
even after the policeman's warning, the driver continued to speed
4. : so as to resemble in some respect:
a. : in accordance with
make me after thy will — Adelaide Pollard
his ways are not after our expectations — Gilbert Kilpack
Napoleon himself she admired as a man after her own heart — G.H.Genzmer
b. obsolete
(1) : with reference to : in correspondence to : in proportion to
(2) : at the rate of
c. : with the name of or by a name derived from that of
John was named after his father
called poinsettia after Joel R. Poinsett
d. : in imitation of : in the characteristic manner of : on the pattern of
a great military power after the Western pattern — Ruth Benedict
portrait of Charles I after Van Dyck — S.P.B.Mais
he was built after his father — Conrad Richter
e. : derived from and shaped like
malachite is a pseudomorph after cuprite
5. chiefly Irish : having just : in the act of : at the point of : given to — used with gerund
it's a queer thing you wouldn't care to be hearing it and them girls after walking four miles to be listening to me now — J.M.Synge
a pot of water they were after boiling potatoes in — Augusta Gregory
you won't be after putting curses on people — Lucy M. Montgomery
•
- after a fashion
III. conjunction
Etymology: Middle English, short for after that, from after, preposition + that, conjunction
1. : subsequently to the time when
after arrangements are made, we will follow
2. obsolete : in proportion as : just as
IV. adjective
Etymology: after (I)
1. : next : later in time : subsequent , succeeding
in after years
during his after life
2.
[Middle English, probably from afte aft + -er ]
: hinder : nearer the rear : toward the stern of a ship or tail of an aircraft — used especially of any object abaft midships
after cabin
after hatchway
V. noun
( -s )
Etymology: by shortening
: afternoon