Etymologically
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thereafter

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˌðeəˈrɑːf.tə/, US /ˌðerˈæf.tɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old English þǣr æfter,[2][3] from þǣr, there, and æfter, after;[2][3] compare Dutch daarachter and Swedish därefter.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

After that in time or sequence, subsequently: about 897.[4]

Semantic evolution

After that in place is from about 1000, now obsolete.[4] Accordingly, in conformity with that (thereafter as), is from about 1175,[4] and with verbs of longing, such as yearn thereafter, from about 1200.[4] As a quasi-adjective, subsequent, it is from 1830.[4] Thereafterward was a variant.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 897 – after that.[4]
  • c. 1175 – accordingly.[4]
  • 1830 – subsequent (quasi-adjective).[4]

Modern meaning

Adverb

  1. From that time on; after that.

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 c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press