after

I left the room, and the dog bounded after.

They lived happily ever after.

I might come next month, or the month after.

Northern England, other non-rhotic without the trap–bath split

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...”).


after

After your bad behaviour, you will be punished.

Subsequently to; following in time; later than.

I’m not putting you in charge again after the last disaster.

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!

I'm tired of picking up after you. Why can't you clean your own messes?

(often with verbs related to cleaning or tidying) Subsequently to the actions of (someone), in order to remedy a situation.

day after day, time after time, mile after mile, beer after beer, smile after smile

(in reduplicative expressions) Repeatedly, seemingly in a sequence without end.

I was after finishing my dinner when there was a knock on the door. [= I had just finished my dinner when ...]

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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.

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

"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, […]."

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

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

We had a few beers after the game.

The time is a quarter after eight. (chiefly US)

The Cold War began shortly after WWII.

After you with the salt and pepper.

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.

1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

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.

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

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.

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

He will leave a trail of destruction after him.

I told her to shut the door after her.

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.

1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

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

We named him after his grandfather.

This painting is after Leonardo da Vinci.

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

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

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

Below, often next below, in importance or rank.

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

Denoting the aim or object; concerning; in relation to.

(obsolete) According to (an author or text).

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

a. 1627 (date written), Francis [Bacon], “Considerations Touching a VVarre vvith Spaine. […]”, in William Rawley, editor, Certaine Miscellany VVorks of the Right Honourable Francis Lo. Verulam, Viscount S. Alban. […], London: […] I. Hauiland for Humphrey Robinson, […], published 1629, →OCLC:

(obsolete) According to the direction and influence of; in proportion to; befitting.

close the barn door after the horse has bolted

close the stable door after the horse has been stolen

close the stable door after the horse has bolted

lock the stable door after the horse has been stolen

lock the stable door after the horse has bolted

shut the stable door after the horse has bolted

уашҭан

subsequently; following in time; later than

-rraar- (postbase used with subordinative mood endings)

պատվին

in allusion to, in imitation of; following or referencing


after

The show ends after the fat lady sings.

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

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.

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

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?

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.

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

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

بَعْدَمَا

signifies that the action of its clause takes place before the action of the other clause


after

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.

1834, David Crockett, A Narrative of the Life of, Nebraska, published 1987, page 72:

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

1886, Thomas Hardy, The Mayor of Casterbridge:

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.

(dated) Later; second (of two); next, following, subsequent

The after gun is mounted aft.

The after gun is abaft the forward gun.

The aircraft provided an after cabin for two radar operators.

Caspian led them down a ladder into the after hatch.

1952, C. S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader:

(nautical or aeronautical, where the frame of reference is within the craft) At or towards the stern of a ship or the rear of an aircraft.

nautical or aeronautical; where the frame of reference is within the craft; nautical or aeronautical; where the frame of reference is within the craft


after

Coordinate term: before

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.

1987, Joanna Z. Adams, Makeovers, London: Headline Book Publishing Plc, →ISBN, page 61:

Did any of the before pictures remind you of yourself, and did any of the afters show what you hoped your results might be?

1998, Alan Gaynor, “How to Choose a Doctor”, in Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Cosmetic Surgery But Couldn’t Afford to Ask: A Complete Look at the Latest Techniques and Why They Are Safer and Less Expensive, by One of Today’s Most Prominent Cosmetic Surgeons, New York, N.Y.: Broadway Books, →ISBN, part I (The New Aesthetic Surgery), page 66:

So with that in mind, we thought it might be helpful to put some pictures where our mouths are, and include some less-than-flattering photos of our first house after we’d lived there eight whole months. Spoiler alert: We were miiiles away from the “afters” that we shared on pages 6 and 7.

2012, Sherry Petersik, John Petersik, Young House Love: 243 Ways to Paint, Craft, Update & Show Your Home Some Love, New York, N.Y.: Artisan, →ISBN, page 16, column 2:

Of before-and-after images: the one that shows the difference after a specified treatment.


after

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 […]

1853, Gustav Eduard Benseler, Geschichte Freibergs und seines Bergbaues. Erste Abtheilung, Freiberg, page 251:

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


after

German: after; After

Luxembourgish: uechter (“throughout”)

Inherited from Old High German after, from Proto-West Germanic *aftar.


after

after zweim tagon

after antreitu

Inherited from Proto-West Germanic *aftar, from Proto-Germanic *after, whence also Old English æfter, Old Norse aptr. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epótero- (“further behind, further away”), comparative form of *apo- (“off, behind”).


after

Middle High German: after; *ahter, *achter

German: after; After

Luxembourgish: uechter (“throughout”)


after

after (nominative singular)
aftery (nominative plural)
afteru (genitive singular)
afterów (genitive plural)
afterowi (dative singular)
afterom (dative plural)
after (accusative singular)
aftery (accusative plural)
afterem (instrumental singular)
afterami (instrumental plural)
afterze (locative singular)
afterach (locative plural)
afterze (singular vocative)
aftery (plural vocative)

Pseudo-anglicism, derived from after-party.


after

Unadapted borrowing from English after[-party].


after

From the locative form of Pre-Germanic *h₂ep(o)teros, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó (“away, off, from”) + *-teros.


after

desctree

Proto-West Germanic: *aftar, *after
Old English: æfter
Middle English: æfter, efter, after
Scots: efter
English: after
Old Frisian: efter, after
North Frisian: efter
Saterland Frisian: ätter
West Frisian: efter; after, achter
Old Saxon: aftar, after
Middle Low German: after, achter, echter
Low German: achter, aster
German Low German: achter; ächter (Münsterländisch & Paderbornisch)
Old Dutch: after, aftir
Middle Dutch: after, affter, achter, echter
Dutch: achter; after (dialectal)
Afrikaans: agter
Old High German: after, aftar; ahter (northern)
Middle High German: after; *ahter, *achter
German: after; After
Luxembourgish: uechter (“throughout”)

desc

Proto-Norse: ᚨᚠᛏᛖᚱ (after), ᛡᚠᚨᛏᛉ (ᴀfatʀ /afᵃtr/)

desctree

Old Norse: eptir, ept, at, ᛁᚠᛏᛁᛦ (iftiʀ), ᛁᚠᛏᛁᚱ (iftir), ᛁᛒᛏᛁᛦ (ibtiʀ), ᛅᚠᛏᛁᛦ (aftiʀ), ᚬᚠᛏᛁᛦ (ąftiʀ), ᛅᛒᛏᛁᛦ (abtiʀ)
Icelandic: eftir
Faroese: eftir
Norn: efter
Middle Norwegian: ettir
Norwegian Nynorsk: etter
→ Norwegian Bokmål: etter
Old Jamtish: efti
Jamtish: ette
Elfdalian: etter
Old Swedish: æptir, æftir, ættir
Swedish: efter
Old Danish: æftær, æftir
Danish: efter
Norwegian Bokmål: efter (unofficial, riksmål)
Scanian: ætte
Old Gutnish: eptir, aktr, ebtir, efter, eftir, epter
Gutnish: etta, ettar, yttur (fårö)


after

head

after (comparative aftener, superlative aftenest)

aftener (comparative)
aftenest (superlative)