afterward

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English afterward,^[2][3] inherited from Old English æfterweard,^[4][5][2] from æfter and the directional suffix -weard,^[2][5] the sources of after and -ward.^[4][6] Etymonline and Random House see an alteration: æfteweard, from æftan, the source of aft, reshaped under the influence of after.^[7][8][9] The OED compares Middle Dutch achterwaert, Middle Low German achterwārt and Old High German afterwart.^[6] Afterwards, with the adverbial genitive ending, was formed from it about 1300.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Behind, in the rear: Old English, in Ælfric's Catholic Homilies.^[6] The 1989 edition of the OED and Barnhart date the word to about 1000.^[10][5]

Semantic evolution

The word first described position, and it came to describe time in Middle English:^[4][6] the sense "later" is recorded from about 1300, in King Horn,^[6] and the place sense lasted until 1540.^[6] A use for order, "next", ran from 1340 to 1583,^[6][11] and sailors used it for "towards the stern" in the 17th century.^[6][11] As a noun it has meant a later time, or the afterlife, since 1677,^[6][2] and as an adjective "later, subsequent" since 1848.^[6] Johnson (1755) preferred this form, saying the word was sometimes written afterwards "but less properly".^[12] It is now chiefly American.^[11][13]

Timeline

• c. 1000 – behind in place, in the rear.^[10]
• c. 1300 – at a later time, in King Horn.^[6] The 1989 edition of the OED has 1297.^[10]
• 1340 – next in order.^[6]
• 1483 – conjunction, after.^[6]
• 1584 – adjective, last in sequence, last-mentioned.^[6]
• before 1618 – towards the stern of a ship.^[6]
• 1677 – noun, a later time, the afterlife.^[6][2]
• 1848 – adjective, later, subsequent.^[6]

Meanings

Adverb

1. (chiefly US) At a later time; subsequently.^{[2][14][11][13]}
2. (obsolete, Old English–1540) Behind, in the rear.^[6][11]
3. (obsolete, 1340–1583) Next in order.^[6][11]

Noun

1. The future; a later time.^[2][3][6]

Adjective

1. Coming later; subsequent.^[6]

Related words

• afterwards
• after
• aft
• -ward
• afterword

Usage notes

It is sometimes confused with afterword.^[8]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ a b Gove, Philip Babcock, ed. (1961), Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam
4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
9. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
10. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
11. ^ a b c d e f Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
12. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
13. ^ a b The Chambers Dictionary (2014), 13th ed., Edinburgh: Chambers
14. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt