Etymologically
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afternoon

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 20:11. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˌɑːf.təˈnuːn/, US /ˌæf.tɚˈnuːn/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English afternone,[2] a compound from Middle English after + noon;[3][4][2] compare Late Latin post meridiem and French après-midi.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The time from midday to evening: before 1300 in the OED,[5] about 1300 in Etymonline,[3] and the 13th century in Hoad.[4]

Semantic evolution

In the 15th and 16th centuries people said at afternoon;[3] the form in the afternoon dates from about 1600.[3] Middle English also had aftermete, the part of the day after the noon meal, from the mid-14th century.[3] As an adjective it is from the 1570s.[3] The figurative afternoon of life is from 1594.[5] In the 18th century it also meant “procrastinating, slow”,[5] and an afternoon's man (1614) was a tippler.[5] Afternoons, “in the afternoon”, is from 1896,[5] and good afternoon as a greeting is recorded in 1921.[5] In Shetland and Dorset an afternoon was a snack eaten in the afternoon.[6]

Timeline

  • before 1300 – the afternoon.[5]
  • 1570s – adjective.[3]
  • 1594 – the afternoon of life.[5]
  • c. 1600 – in the afternoon.[3]
  • 1614 – afternoon's man, a tippler.[5]
  • 1896 – afternoons.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The part of the day from noon until evening.
  2. The later part: the afternoon of life.

Word family

  • afternooner
  • midafternoon
  • preafternoon
  • arvo
  • good afternoon
  • forenoon
  • afternoons
  • after
  • noon
  • evening
  • morning

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)