aftermath

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɑːf.təˌmæθ/, /ˈɑːf.təˌmɑːθ/ (UK); /ˈæf.tɚˌmæθ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is a compound of after and the obsolete or dialectal math “a mowing”,^[2][3][4] which is inherited from Old English mǣþ (“a mowing, cutting of grass”).^[2][5][6] Math is related to Old High German mād (modern German Mahd “mowing, hay crop”)^[4][6] and to mow.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A second crop of grass that springs up on the same land after the first mowing (1523).^[4][5][3][7]

Semantic evolution

Farmers once had several words for this second growth, including aftercrop, aftergrass and lattermath.^[5] The figurative use, for a state of affairs left behind by an event, is recorded by the 1650s;^[5][7][4] it usually refers to the consequences of something unpleasant,^[7][2] and this is now the main sense.^[3][6]

Timeline

• 1523 – a second mowing, or the grass that grows after the first.^[4][3][7]
• by 1650s (before 1658) – figurative, a state left by an event, especially an unpleasant one.^[5][7][4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The consequences of an event, especially a disastrous one.
2. The period immediately following a ruinous event.
3. A second crop of grass in the same season after mowing.

Related words

• mow
• meadow
• mead

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
5. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press