afteradv.prep.conj.

Brit.

/ˈɑːftə/,

/ˈaftə/, U.S.

/ˈæftər/

Forms:

α. early Old English aæfter, early Old English aeftaer, Old English aefter (rare), Old English æfterr (Northumbrian), Old English æftor (rare), Old English æftyr (rare), Old English æter (transmission error), Old English aftær (in a late copy), Old English (rare)–early Middle English æftær, Old English (rare)–early Middle English æfte, Old English–early Middle English æfter, Old English–early Middle English ęfter, Old English (rare)– after, late Old English æfer (perhaps transmission error), late Old English–early Middle English eafter, late Old English–early Middle English hæfter, early Middle English ææfter, early Middle English affterr ( Ormulum), early Middle English aster (transmission error), Middle English affeter, Middle English afftere, Middle English afftir, Middle English afftr, Middle English afftre, Middle English afftter, Middle English affttyr, Middle English afftur, Middle English afftyr, Middle English afitir (transmission error), Middle English afteir, Middle English afþer, Middle English afthere, Middle English aftire, Middle English aftiree, Middle English aftour, Middle English aftr, Middle English aftter, Middle English afþur, Middle English afture, Middle English aftyre, Middle English aufter, Middle English auftir, Middle English haffter, Middle English hafter, Middle English haftyr, Middle English haufeter, Middle English ofter, Middle English (1800s– Irish English) afther, Middle English–1500s aftere, Middle English–1500s aftir, Middle English–1500s aftre, Middle English–1500s aftur, Middle English–1500s aftyr, Middle English–1600s aftar, Middle English–1700s affter, 1800s– afthar (Irish English and Manx English), 1900s– af'er (U.S. regional (in African-American usage)); Scottish pre-1700 afftir, pre-1700 aftir, pre-1700 aftyr, pre-1700 1700s affter, pre-1700 1700s– after, 1800s– aifter.

β. Chiefly early and northern early Old English ester (Northumbrian and Mercian, transmission error), early Old English yftær (Kentish), early Old English yfter (Kentish), Old English–early Middle English efer (perhaps transmission error), Old English–Middle English efter, Old English (rare)–Middle English hefter, late Old English eftær, early Middle English effer (transmission error), early Middle English hester (transmission error), Middle English effter, Middle English efftere, Middle English efftir, Middle English efftyr, Middle English eftere, Middle English eftir, Middle English eftire, Middle English eftre, Middle English eftter, Middle English eftur, Middle English eftyr, Middle English eftyre, Middle English hefteir; English regional (northern and Lincolnshire) 1800s– efter, 1800s– efther, 1800s– eftther; Scottish pre-1700 effter, pre-1700 efftere, pre-1700 efftir, pre-1700 efftyr, pre-1700 efftyre, pre-1700 eftere, pre-1700 eftire, pre-1700 eftre, pre-1700 eftyr, pre-1700 eftyre, pre-1700 1700s– efter, pre-1700 1700s– eftir; also Irish English 1900s– efter, 1900s– efther.

See also arter adv., prep., and conj.

Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.

Etymology: Cognate with (all as both adverb and preposition) Old Frisian efter (adverb and preposition) after (in time), to, as a result of, through, in accordance with, behind (West Frisian efter , ( < Dutch) achter ), Old Dutch after , aftir (adverb and preposition) behind, according to (Middle Dutch after , achter , also in sense ‘after (in time)’; Dutch achter ), Old Saxon aftar (adverb and preposition) after (in time), behind, through, as a result of (Middle Low German achter ( > Norwegian akter , Swedish akter , Danish agter , all as adverb in specific sense ‘astern’), Old High German after (adverb and preposition) after (in time), in accordance with, behind (Middle High German after , ahter ), also (with various variations in the suffix, although the precise nature of this is disputed) Old Icelandic aptr (Icelandic aftur ), Old Swedish apter , after , atter (Swedish åter ), Old Danish atær (Danish atter ), all as adverb in sense ‘back, back again, backwards, again’, Early Runic after (preposition) after, Gothic aftaro (adverb) behind, from behind, aftra (adverb) again, backwards, and also (apparently with different form of suffix causing i-mutation) Old Icelandic eptir , eftir (Icelandic eftir ) (preposition) after (in time or place), Old Swedish æpti , æptir , æfti , æftir , ætti , ættir (Swedish efter ), Old Danish æftir (Danish efter ), all as preposition, adverb, and (in Swedish and Danish) conjunction in sense ‘after (in time or place)’; ultimately showing a formation with an Indo-European comparative suffix also represented by Sanskrit -tara , ancient Greek -τερος , classical Latin -ter (see discussion at other adj., pron., n., and adv.²); the base is probably that of of prep. (as shown likewise by the comparative formations ancient Greek ἀπωτέρω , Sanskrit apataram , both in sense ‘further off’; compare also Sanskrit aparam afterwards), although it could alternatively be the same base as shown by ancient Greek ἐπί (see epi- prefix). Compare after adj., aftermost adj., and also after- prefix. Compare also aft adv.The early β. forms show the regular development of Old English æ to e in Kentish and Mercian and their early Middle English reflexes. Northern Middle English β. forms probably show influence from early Scandinavian (compare Old Icelandic eftir ). Influence from eft adv. has also been suggested. In Old English, the preposition is construed either with the dative or (rarely and chiefly in Northumbrian) with the accusative. The use as temporal conjunction (see sense C. 1), which in Old English is found only in prose, is perhaps originally after classical Latin postquam subsequent to the time when. In Old English (and occasionally also later), the word can be used as preposition in postmodifying position; in Old English, this use is typically found after personal pronouns (compare also hereafter adv., thereafter adv.). In Old English and early Middle English, this use can be difficult to distinguish from use as a verbal prefix or separable verbal particle (see after- prefix and compare discussion at out- prefix; see further B. Mitchell Old Eng. Syntax (1985) §§ 1060–80). Compare the following:eOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Parker) anno 878 He..hiene gefliemde, & him æfter rad oþ þæt geweorc.eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) i. x. 29 Hie..sona þone cyning gefliemdon mid his folce, & him æfterfolgiende wæron.OE Wærferð tr. Gregory Dialogues (Corpus Cambr.) (1900) i. xii. 88 Gað ge beforon; ic eow cume æfter.c1225 (?c1200) St. Juliana (Royal) l. 235 Þu leddest israeles folc þurh þe reade sea..ant hare fan senchtest þet ham efter sohten [c1225 Bodl. ferden ham efter].

A. adv.

a. Behind something in place or position; in the rear; further back.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > position at the back > [adverb]

baftc885

afterwardOE

afterOE

at-hind1016

abackOE

behindc1220

backc1300

arrear1393

hinda1400

baftsc1400

dererec1410

abaft1495

ahind1768

retrally1825

a-rear1849

the world > movement > progressive motion > order of movement > following behind > [adverb]

thereafterc897

afterOE

behind1393

OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) xii. 112 Pharao..tengde æfter mid eallum his here and offerde hi æt ðære readan sæ.

OE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Tiber. B.iv) anno 1076 Rawulf..wæs fægen þæt he to scypum ætfleah, & his wif belaf æfter in þam castele.

a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 41 (MED) Mihhal eode bi-foren and paul com efter.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 787 Þe king sette to fleonne, & al þa ferde eafter.

c1330 Sir Orfeo (Auch.) (1966) 378 (MED) In þis castel þe leuedis aliȝt; He wold in after, ȝif he miȝt.

c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) 1001 (MED) Þe Sarasynz..prykede away..& þay folȝyeaþ after.

c1450 (c1440) S. Scrope tr. C. de Pisan Epist. of Othea (Longleat) (1904) 79 The harpor [sc. Orpheus]..toke hym hys wyff vpon a condicion that he shulde goo afore and sche after.

a1500 (?a1450) Gesta Romanorum (Harl. 7333) (1879) 313 (MED) All þat sawe hire [sc. a hind] svyd aftir with houndis.

1541 Schole House of Women sig. B.iii The wyfe, wolde haue a tayle Come rakyng after.

1611 Bible (King James) Luke xxiii. 55 And the women also..followed after, and beheld the Sepulchre.

1645 True Relation of Whale 4 There was..such a Fray of Sea-monsters (the old ones following after) as the like was never seene.

1724 T. Lewis Origines Hebrææ I. iii. vii. 310 The Tabernacle was to follow, between those two that went before, and the Camp of Ephraim and the Camp of Dan that came after.

1785 Mother Goose's Melody 37 Jack fell down And broke his Crown, And Gill came tumbling after.

1844 W. M. Thackeray Barry Lyndon ii. ii, in Fraser's Mag Nov. 591/2 She ran screaming through the galleries, and I, as tipsy as a lord, came staggering after.

1879 J. Hawthorne Archibald Malmaison vi. 70 Poor Archie toddled after.

1931 J. Mockford Khama xxxi. 222 The women-folk follow after, balancing bed-mats and food-baskets on their heads.

2008 R. Raisin God's Own Country x. 77 Yer father'll bray you if he hears on it. He will, I said, and walked out, Sal towing after.

b. In a position of lower rank or importance; as a lower priority; secondarily.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > two > fact of being second > [adverb] > in order of importance

afterc1400

secondarily?1523

secondly1526

c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. x. l. 358 (MED) Loue þi lorde god leuest aboue alle, And after, alle crystene creatures.

a1450 (c1400) in D. M. Grisdale 3 Middle Eng. Serm. (1939) 73 (MED) Mannes resun..schuld evin be preferrid be-for sensualite & ner cum after.

1867 R. Edwards & J. R. Webb Analyt. 3rd Reader lxi. 187 (heading) Business first and pleasure after.

1916 E. A. Boyd Ireland's Literary Renaissance iv. 80 The writers of The Nation were, as has been stated, patriots first and poets after.

2003 S. Tharoor Nehru iii. 47 With many close Muslim friends whom he saw as friends first and Muslims after (if at all), he could not..take religious divisions seriously.

a. Later in time; afterwards; subsequently.Formerly used before (as well as after) the verb, now chiefly at the end of a sentence or clause.

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > [adverb] > after, afterwards, or later

sitheneOE

aftereOE

sithOE

eftOE

latterOE

aftOE

sithencea1170

sithrec1175

thereup?c1225

baftc1275

furtherc1290

eftsoon1297

therewithala1300

afterwardc1300

afterwardsc1300

soc1300

therewithc1369

eftersoonsa1400

suingly?a1425

at after1425

followingly?c1425

afterhand1438

syne1489

by posteriority1523

in sequel1524

still1526

later1527

subsequently1537

senthis?1553

lately1565

subsequent1568

behindc1600

sequelarly1600

posterior1628

in prosecutiona1641

subsequentiallya1683

artera1746

posteriorly1799

ulteriorly1818

later on1829

eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) i. ii. 36 Gereste him æfter & slape & þonne aþweah his eagan mid clæne wætre.

OE Beowulf (2008) 12 Ðæm eafera wæs æfter cenned.

lOE tr. R. d'Escures Sermo in Festis Sancte Marie Virginis in R. D.-N. Warner Early Eng. Homilies (1917) 138 Næfre ær ne æfter, nan oðer swa forðlice ne gesmæhte, hwu swote is ure Drihten.

a1250 (?c1200) St. Katherine (Titus) (1981) l. 827 (MED) Þurh hwam we mahen haue sikere bileaue to arisen alle after.

a1300 in R. Morris Old Eng. Misc. (1872) 139 (MED) Of þe mayde þu were ibore..Þo þu hire to come, heo mayde wes, And mayde heo wes after wemmeles.

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 12 (MED) Marie blefte eure, mayde an yhol be-uore and efter.

c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 1201 And after was she maad the lode sterre.

c1450 King Ponthus (Digby) in Publ. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer. (1897) 12 61 (MED) They hade carralles, daunces, and songys to mydnyght. And aftre, they dranke and ete spyces. And aftre, the straungers toke theyr leve.

1481 W. Caxton tr. Hist. Reynard Fox (1970) 62 Men may wel lye whan it is nede, and after amende it.

a1500 (?a1390) J. Mirk Festial (Gough) (1905) 1 (MED) Holy chirche layþe downe songys of melody befor, yn tokenyng of vengans þat woll come aftyr.

1594 H. Plat Diuers Chimicall Concl. Distillation 40 in Jewell House A..substance, which you may after cleanse by ablution.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) i. ii. 77 If you know, That I do fawne on then [sic]..And after scandall them.

1651 T. Gataker in T. Fuller Abel Redevivus 213 Our worthy Jewel, after Bishop of Salisbury.

a1668 W. Davenant Wks. (1673) 277 He who made discovery Of the west-world, could not directly ply To make those Harbours which he after found.

1757 E. Burke Philos. Enq. Sublime & Beautiful iv. §1. 119 All we do after, is but a faint struggle.

1768 H. Walpole Hist. Doubts 5 The king smote the young prince on the face, and after his servants slew him.

1790 Edinb. Mag. Sept. 161/2 He after went home with Ayto Aylo.

1834 F. Marryat Peter Simple II. xvi. 273 ‘Will you have your glass of grog before or after?’ ‘Before, by all means.’

1859 Ld. Tennyson Enid in Idylls of King 21 Enid took his charger to the stall; And after went her way across the bridge.

1891 F. R. Brainard in C. King By Land & Sea 115 On the instant of the striking, neither before nor after, he was on the bridge.

1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. 97 Must be careful about women. Catch them once with their pants down. Never forgive you after.

1970 K. Williams Diary 30 Aug. (1993) 382 After, I congratulated them all & bought them drinks.

2000 A. E. Wolf Secret of Parenting 126 ‘Carole Ann, please pick up your toys now. It's almost supper.’ ‘I'll do it after.’

b. With another temporal adverb or adverbial phrase, or with a specified period of time: later by the specified amount of time; (also) for the specified amount of time subsequent to an event. See also ever after at ever adv. 1b.

ΚΠ

eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) ii. ii. 39 Raðe æfter [OE Tiber. æfter ðan] Romulus hiora anginn geunclænsade mid his broðor slege.

OE Wulfstan Pastoral Let. (Hatton) (1957) 226 His wylla is þæt we aa æfter ure agenre þearfe geornlice winnan.

a1325 (c1280) Southern Passion (Pepys 2344) (1927) l. 1726 (MED) Some lyuede after longe [v.r. longe þerafter].

a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 1408 (MED) Confort..þei cauȝt sone after.

a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Gal. ii. 1 And sith fourtene ȝeer aftir, eftsones Y wente vp to Jerusalem.

c1450 Treat. Fysshynge wyth Angle (1883) 17 (MED) Yf he be a frayd, he wyl not byt a good while aftur.

1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid ix. v. 40 Brocht in schort quhile eftir syne.

1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. xxxiv. 638 Immediatly after, all things should be set in their perfect state ageine.

1625 J. Hart Anat. Urines ii. iv. 73 This flux continued..for some few dayes after.

1625 J. Hart Anat. Urines ii. vi. 87 She died about two months after.

1684 J. Bunyan Pilgrim's Progress 2nd Pt. 219 It came to pass, a while after, that there was a Post in the Town that enquired for Mr. Honest.

1711 J. Swift Jrnl. to Stella 13 Aug. (1948) I. 331 I felt my last riding three days after.

1753 J. Hanway Hist. Acct. Brit. Trade Caspian Sea III. xxii. 149 Soon after, the artillery..proclaimed the news to the people.

1800 S. Turner Acct. Embassy Court Teshoo Lama 81 A few days after, I had an application for a fresh supply of the former [sc. raspberry jam and claret].

1854 Harper's Mag. Apr. 654/2 For a long time after, the stings of a wounded conscience reproached him.

1882 Ballou's Monthly Mag. Oct. 352/2 For a moment there seemed no hope of her escape. ‘It was rub and go’, said the prize-master, as he told the story years after.

1914 J. B. Rathbun Motion Picture Making iii. 68 The camera man starts cranking the machine and the actors stand alert... An instant after follows the order, ‘Start your action’.

1957 M. Hadfield Brit. Trees 396 The red horse-chestnut was first described in 1818 by the French botanist Loiscleur... It was apparently received and planted in Britain not long after.

2007 H. R. F. Keating Rules, Regs & Rotten Eggs (2008) xix. 209 It was then I heard the bell. No. No, wait. It was a bit after.

c. Preceded by the and a unit of time (frequently with preceding ordinal number): on the (second, third, etc.) day, week, month, year, etc., that follows.

ΚΠ

a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 2517 (MED) Þei..rested..al þat longe day & al þe niȝt next after.

a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) I. 444 All people sholde be at his castell the fifth day aftir.

1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 61 Because it was Sunday, nothing was done. So the day after, which was the second fery, the Archebishop was cited to apere.

c1600 Wriothesley's Chron. Eng. (1875) I. 36 The morrowe after, being Satterdaie.

1611 Bible (King James) John i. 35 The next day after John stood, and two of his disciples.

a1699 I. Abendana Disc. Eccl. & Civil Polity of Jews (1706) vi. 186 The Day after is that of Purim, which is a Feast.

1727 E. Calamy Contin. Acct. Ministers II. 34 It fell the Week after to one thousand and fifty, and the Week after to six hundred fifty-two.

1758 E. Spelman tr. Dionysius of Halicarnassus Rom. Antiq. II. v. 339 The day after, he appeared in a mourning habit.

1858 Harper's Mag. Aug. 406/1 The night after, the King's governor and the King's army found themselves closely beleagured [sic] in Boston.

1891 C. Creighton Hist. Epidemics Brit. x. 507 In the last week of March they [sc. plague deaths] were 11, and in the week after, 10.

1908 Amer. Mag. Nov. 48/1 To-morrow we make an important revelation..and we want to follow it up the morning after by a cartoon that will be a stunner.

1949 Life 19 Sept. 45/3 Next year it will be worse, still worse the year after.

2007 Gloucestershire Echo (Nexis) 8 Dec. 38 The day after I ached so much I felt like I'd been run over by a truck.

3. With regard to writing: subsequently in the text, further down, below. Cf. hereafter adv. 1, herein after adv. at herein adv. Compounds. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > [adverb] > below or hereafter (in a later part of a book, etc.)

hereafterc900

aftereOE

innermorea1387

under1389

underneath1389

hereunder1425

below1645

beneath1668

post1688

infra1740

overleaf1742

therein after1818

over1893

eOE Cleopatra Gloss. in W. G. Stryker Lat.-Old Eng. Gloss. in MS Cotton Cleopatra A.III (Ph.D. diss., Stanford Univ.) (1951) 238 Infra, æfter.

OE Ælfric Let. to Sigeweard (De Veteri et Novo Test.) (Laud) 21 Ure Hælend Crist ure yfel gebette, swa swa þeos racu æfter [c1175 Bodl. hæræfter] us segð.

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 12 (MED) Þe þridde article, and the vifte þet uolȝeþ efter, belongeþ to þe zone.

1385 in D. Macpherson et al. Rotuli Scotiae (1819) II. 73/1 The forsayd lordes are acordit in specialte as efter folowes.

c1460 in A. Clark Eng. Reg. Oseney Abbey (1907) 110 (MED) The charter of John ij of Seynt John, seke after.

1584 King James VI & I Ess. Prentise Poesie sig. Liiij The wordis, sentences, and phrasis necessair for a Poete to vse in his verse, quhilk I haue set doun in reulis, as efter followis.

1644 Articles Surrender City of Yorke sig. A2 The said Sir Thomas, as Governour of the said Citie, shall surrender and deliver up the same,..upon the condition after written.

1794 T. Maurice Indian Antiq. IV. 260 Immediately after follows a passage, in which the three Persons in the divine essence are expressly pointed out by appellations.

1829 H. Grant Pract. High Court Chancery (ed. 2) I. lv. 266 As is after stated, a general report must first be confirmed nisi, when objections have been carried in.

1908 A. Robinson Law Relating to Income Tax (ed. 2) 382 (margin) Annual value to be ascertained by this rule, except as after stated.

2008 J. Doles Miracles & Manifestations of Holy Spirit in Hist. Church viii. 176/1 Shortly after follows the account of what the Ancients felt.

B. prep.In Old English with dative or (rarely) accusative.

I. Senses relating to place or position.

a. In collocation with verbs of motion. To the rear of, behind (a person or thing); following.In quot. 1594 with verb implied.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > progressive motion > order of movement > following behind > behind (where there is movement) [preposition]

afterOE

OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) xii. 113 Eft swa hraðe swa þæt wolcn styrode, swa siðode samtinges eal seo fyrd æfter ðam wolcne.

OE West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) ix. 23 Gyf hwa wyle æfter me cuman, ætsace hine sylfne & nime his cwylminge & me folgige.

lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1128 Þa for mid him & æfter him swa micel folc swa næfre ær ne dide.

a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 5 (MED) Al þe hebreisce folc þe eode efter him and biuoren him.

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 8207 (MED) Roberd erl of flaundres after þulke ost com.

c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Luke xiv. 27 He that berith not his cross, and cometh aftir [L. venit post] me, may not be my disciple.

c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) i. l. 1312 (MED) Iason is come..And after him foloweth al þe pres.

c1460 (?c1400) Tale of Beryn l. 1589 Our four Shippis, [þ^t] aftir vs doith dryve.

1526 Bible (Tyndale) Luke xiv. f. cj Come after me.

1594 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 v. v. 32 Shall we after them? After them, nay before them if we can.

1625 G. Markham Souldiers Accidence 61 Tucquet, or March..Commands nothing but Marching after the Leader.

1653 T. Urquhart tr. F. Rabelais 1st Bk. Wks. xxxiv. 155 The rest of his traine came after him.

1707 London Gaz. mmmmcccxxxiii/7 After whom rode on Horse-back a Courier of the Republick.

1756 D. Hume Let. 20 Apr. (1932) I. 232 Alas! you are going down hill, and I am tumbling fast after you.

1816 J. Wilson City of Plague i. ii. 271 That merciless ghost that walks the sea After our ship for ever.

c1840 J. S. Knowles Virgin i. i The people will throng after him with shouts.

1916 J. Joyce Portrait of Artist i. 14 The bell rang for night prayers and he filed out of the study hall after the others.

1999 C. Nolan Banyan Tree (2000) xv. 49 The men moved off, he traipsing after them.

b. Of the position of something at rest (chiefly in relation to a person or thing in motion): behind, to the rear of; following. Now frequently Irish English.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > position at the back > at the back of or behind [preposition]

afterOE

in (also on) the rearward of1591

in (also at, within) (the) rear of1604

on, upon the back (of)1614

back of1694

rearward1778

behind1882

in back ofa1910

OE tr. Felix St. Guthlac (Vesp.) (1909) xi. 144 He þa se eadiga wer Guthlac acsode hi, hwæðer hi ænig þinc æfter heom on þam scipe forleton.

lOE Homily: Evangelium de Virginibus (Corpus Cambr. 303) in H. L. C. Tristram Vier Altenglische Predigten aus der Heterodoxen Trad. (Ph.D. diss., Freiburg) (1970) 440 Se brydgume..genam þa fif snotere mædena mid him in to his brydbure and beleac þa duru æfter heom.

c1300 St. Edmund Rich (Laud) l. 428 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 443 (MED) Make faste þe dore aftur þe and ne lat þou no man in gon.

c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) 2776 (MED) Spedilich in þey wente & After hymen made þe gate faste.

a1450 York Plays (1885) 394 (MED) Leffe noght my saule, lorde, aftir þe, In depe helle.

c1475 (?c1400) Apol. Lollard Doctr. (1842) 57 Go o bak after me, Sathanas.

1484 W. Caxton tr. G. de la Tour-Landry Bk. Knight of Tower (1971) Prol. 12 Suche ther be that lawgheth to fore yow, whiche after youre back goo mockyng.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Judges iii. 23 Ehud..put to y^e dore after him, and lockte it.

1570 J. Foxe Actes & Monumentes (rev. ed.) II. 1357/1 I was the page to a footeman, carying after him his pyke and burganet.

a1727 I. Newton Opticks (1730) i. i. 31 Sometimes I placed a third Prism after the second, and sometimes also a fourth after the third.

1764 H. Walpole Castle of Otranto i. 29 Shut the trap-door after you.

1849 Rural Repository 4 Aug. 178/3 Be particular to hasp the gate after you when you go out.

1885 Cent. Mag. July 373/1 Lapham followed him to close the street-door after him.

1938 Times 6 Jan. 9/4 She went out and closed the door after her, and called the police.

2001 J. McGowan Echoes Savage Land (2006) ix. 305 He was taking the horse out of the cart..when he realised that he left the cart-cover after him.

c. colloquial. With verbs of cleaning or making orderly: consequent upon the actions of (a person or animal).Now chiefly following phrasal verbs with up, as to clean up, to tidy up, etc.See also to pick up 11 at pick v.¹ Phrasal verbs 1.

ΚΠ

1741 H. Fielding in Daily Gazetteer 30 Mar. 1/1 Both of us had need of a hundred Hands, and nothing else to do but to..run and go, and tend and clean after him.

1782 F. Burney Cecilia V. ix. vi. 125 One's dirt enough of one's own, without taking people out of the streets to help one. Who do you think's to clean after you?

1852 Daily News 19 Jan. 6/3 She refused to clean up after the cats.

1863 Mrs. H. Wood Verner's Pride III. xxxvii. 252 Messing the floor and places with your powder and stuff! It would take two servants to clear up after you.

1895 Home Notes 7 Dec. 299/1 The mother who instils this in her little ones certainly spares herself the constant fatigue..of perpetually tidying after her nearly grown-up daughters.

1953 A. Baron Human Kind xxiv. 178 This battalion came all the way from Africa, two thousand miles of bloody misery.., and what for? To clean their crap up after them!

1990 P. Cornwell Postmortem i. 8 Maybe he wiped up after himself to make sure he didn't leave footprints on the john or floor.

2008 Wicklow (Ireland) People (Nexis) 24 Sept. Free pooper scoopers have been provided..but many dog owners continue to ignore pleas to tidy up after their pet.

a. Following the course of (anything extended in space); along (a linear dimension); across or away over (an extended surface). In early use also: †through or throughout (a place) (obsolete). English regional (chiefly south-western) in later use. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > direction > specific directions > [preposition] > along longitudinal dimension of

aftereOE

alongeOE

alongstOE

afterlongc1390

longs1488

longways1561

longst1591

eOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Parker) anno 878 He lytle werede unieþelice æfter wudum for & on morfæstenum.

OE Andreas (1932) 581 Sealde he dumbum gesprec, deafe gehyrdon,..æfter burhstedum blinde gesegon.

OE Beowulf (2008) 1425 Gesawon ða æfter wætere wyrmcynnes fela, sellice sædracan sund cunnian.

lOE Royal Charter: Eadred to Ælfsige Hunlafing (Sawyer 566) in A. J. Robertson Anglo-Saxon Charters (1956) 56 On Earninga stræte æt þam stapelan, & þonne norþ æfter strate to þere dic, On Ceastertuninga gemærie.

a1225 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Egerton) 231 in J. Zupitza & J. Schipper Alt- u. Mitteleng. Übungsbuch (1904) 87 (MED) Þer is wanunge end wop efter eche strete.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 6874 Swa quiddeden..al þat verden æfter wæi [c1300 Otho bi þan wai].

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 11547 [Bruttes] fluȝen after þere sæ.

a1400 Siege Jerusalem (Laud) (1932) l. 482 Þis faiþles folke to þe feld comen, & batayled after þe bent.

?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 157^v (MED) Þai ar a maner blacke wormes..wiþ citrine and ȝelow lynez after þaire backe.

c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 12557 After a syde of the sea..Was a-party a prouynse, plight full of hilles.

1865 J. Earle in Two Saxon Chron. 305 In Somersetshire they still say, going along ‘after the wall’, ‘after the stream’ to signify following the line of.

1890 J. D. Robertson Gloss. Words County of Gloucester 2 Go athirt that ere ground, and you'll find the path after the hedge.

†b. Along the surface of, close to. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > surface > along the surface of [preposition]

overeOE

alongeOE

afterOE

OE Old Eng. Martyrol. (Julius) 22 Sept. 215 Ða het [se casere] hy gemartyrian þæt heora þæt halige blod orn æfter eorðan swa swa flod.

?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry sig. C.iiii Hey cometh of a grasse called crofote and groweth flat after the erth.

a. In pursuit of, following with the intent to catch (a person or thing in motion); in the direction of. Also with elision of verb of motion.

ΚΠ

OE Old Eng. Hexateuch: Gen. (Claud.) xxxi. 36 For hwylcum gylte ferdest ðu þus æfter me [L. exarsisti post me] & towurpe eall min innorf?

c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 100 Vre wiðeriwines..up o þe hulles ha clumben efter us.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 11154 Gillomar þe king flah & awæwardes teh and Arður him after, and þene king ikahte.

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1965) Judith ix. 6 After þi seruauntys þei runnyn armed trostinge in þer foure horsid cartis.

a1438 Bk. Margery Kempe (1940) i. 50 (MED) I haue ronnyn a-wey fro þe, & þow hast ronnyn aftyr me.

1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) v. 511 Eftir [1489 Adv. efter] hym in hy he sent.

a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. viii. 83 (MED) Pharao..will shape vs to sheynd, And after vs send his garray.

1576 G. Pettie Petite Pallace vii. 134 She..leapt into the sea to swim after him as hee sayled away.

1611 Bible (King James) 1 Sam. xxiv. 14 After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? After a dead dogge, after a flea.

1627 R. Sanderson Ten Serm. 177 He must after them, and smite them, and plucke the spoyle out of their teeth.

1663 Brief Acc. Turks Late Exped. 21 There followed into the Town a great Body of Tartars after these scouting Troupers.

1708 London Gaz. mmmmccccxix/5 They stand from us, and we after them with all the Sail we can.

1764 A. Stephen Let. 16 Apr. in H. Bouquet Papers (1942) Ser. 21650 1st Pt. 104 Several Parties of Indians are down in Hampshire, but I have a Number of Chosen Rifflemen on the hunt after them.

1804 J. Farington Diary 8 July (1923) II. lxxi. 265 He fancied that she sent persons after Him to drug his victuals.

1861 G. H. Kingsley in F. Galton Vacation Tourists & Trav. 1860 iv. 128 He only succeeded in gaining the descent of the hill..before another, a male or dog wolf, was noticed in full chase after him.

1869 ‘M. Twain’ Innocents Abroad v. 51 If we were ever to get after it [sc. a little fort] with one of our turreted monitors they would have to move it out in the country.

1947 Sporting Mirror 7 Nov. 9/1 Tunstall, United forward, raced after a long pass from his right half.

1988 A. Tyler Breathing Lessons i. i. 26 Ira would get after her for refolding it wrong.

2004 G. W. Warner Clue in Corn Maze x. 115 The person dashed into the maze. ‘Quick! After him!’ Henry cried.

b. In search of, in order to find or get (a person or thing at rest). Frequently with come, go, and send.

ΚΠ

OE Old Eng. Hexateuch: Deut. (Claud.) vi. 14 Ne far ðu æfter fremdum godum [L. non ibitis post deos alienos].

OE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Tiber. B.iv) anno 1061 Her for Ealdred biscop to Rome æfter his pallium.

lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1123 He com æfter þe Romescot.

?a1160 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1132 Þe king sende efter him.

a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 7 (MED) God almihti sende his apostles..efter þe assa fole.

c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 137 (MED) He sende writes..After his erles euere-ich on.

c1330 Seven Sages (Auch.) (1933) l. 1892 (MED) He send his sond After alle þe wise men of his lond, And tolde hem alle his greuaunce.

c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 136 Ful semely after hir mete she raghte.

c1410 (c1350) Gamelyn (Harl. 7334) 614 (MED) The scherreue..sent after a leche.

a1500 (?a1400) Sir Torrent of Portyngale (1887) l. 499 (MED) Hys squyeres bode he there, Aftyr hys armor for to far.

?1515 Hyckescorner (de Worde) sig. C.iv Huffe huffe huffe who sent after me I am Imagynacyon full of Iolyte.

1611 Bible (King James) Deut. vi. 14 Yee shall not goe after other gods.

1698 W. Bates Acct. Life & Death of Philip Henry x. 227 Rejoycing in hope of the Glory of God, which we are reaching after, and pressing towards.

1741 S. Richardson Pamela III. xxx. 201 There is nobody comes after her: She receives no Letters.

1755 T. Smollett tr. M. de Cervantes Don Quixote II. ii. ii. 115 The company not being willing to wait for the scrivener, who was gone after the foil.

1803 in D. Knox Naval Documents U.S. Wars Barbary Powers (1941) III. 273 The cutter was sent after sand and holy stones.

1876 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest II. x. 462 The new Metropolitan went to Rome after his pallium.

1909 M. J. Cawein Giant & Star 86 Old Sis Snow..Sticks her long white fingers through Every crack and cranny too, Reaching after me and you.

1978 Texas Monthly Jan. 62/2 The officer contends that Mendoza came after him with a knife.

2000 A. Huebner Amer. by Blood 84 I hear they went and stuck his head in the latrine, sent him after a flask someone'd dropped.

4. Indicating the aim or object of many verbs, adjectives, and nouns of action. Cf. to be after at Phrases 5.

a. With verbs, adjectives, and nouns of desire, as long, hanker, hunger, thirst, eager, greedy, hankering, etc.: for the acquisition or gain of.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > will > intention > [preposition] > indicating purpose

toc893

afterOE

fortc1200

tilla1352

the mind > will > intention > [preposition] > indicating purpose > in order to get

afterOE

OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) xxxvi. 493 Se bið ofhingrod & ofþyrst æfter rihtwisnysse, se þe godes beboda lustlice gehyrð.

OE Beowulf (2008) 1879 He þone breostwylm forberan ne mehte, ac him on hreþre hygebendum fæst æfter deorum men dyrne langað beorn [perh. read born] wið blode.

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 2966 To ȝeornenn affterr weorelld þing.

a1250 Ureisun ure Louerde (Nero) in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 200 (MED) Heo..wilned efter cumfort on eorðe.

c1300 St. Vincent (Laud) l. 169 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 189 Seint Vincent..longuede after reste.

a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 59 (MED) Appeles & alle þinges þat childern after wilnen.

?c1400 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (BL Add. 10340) (1868) ii. pr. v. l. 1311 For hys wickednesse þe more gredy aftir oþer folkes rycchesse.

c1410 (c1350) Gamelyn (Harl. 7334) 636 (MED) He was sore alonged after a good meel.

a1500 (c1400) St. Erkenwald (1977) l. 304 (MED) Þat solempne fest, Þer richely hit arne refetyd þat after right hungride.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms xlii. 1 Like as the hert desyreth [1611 panteth after] the water brokes, So longeth my soule after the, o God.

a1625 J. Boys Wks. (1629) 400 People, who being Crop-sicke, doe not hunger after the righteousnesse of Gods kingdome.

1642 D. Rogers Naaman 479 An ardent affection after it, as one that is famished.

1709 R. Steele Tatler 18 Apr. 18 Will. Ubi, who is so thirsty after the Reputation of a Companion.

1767 tr. D. Cranz Hist. Greenland II. ix. vi. 281 The Greenlandish women are wont to be much more eager after the gospel than their husbands.

1796 J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (new ed.) I. 301 A prevailing desire after a peaceable accommodation.

1800 S. T. Coleridge tr. F. Schiller Death Wallenstein ii. iii. 44 Because I Endeavour'd after peace, therefore I fall.

1842 T. B. Macaulay Ess. (1848) II. 144 He was greedy after power with a greediness all his own.

1853 W. M. Thackeray Newcomes (1854) I. v. 52 This brave man thought ever of his absent child, and longed after him.

1897 ‘Ouida’ Massarenes xxxix. 477 You are as keen after gold as a stoat after poultry.

1926 J. Devanny Butcher Shop xxi. 265 Miette wanted him, but not crazily, as she still hungered after the Maori.

2007 S. Worboyes Lipstick & Powder iii. 72 He had always hankered after a place in the country.

b. With verbs, adjectives, and nouns of seeking or desiring information, as ask, enquire, etc.: for information about; for news of.

ΚΠ

OE Beowulf (2008) 331 Wlonc hæleð oretmecgas æfter hæleþum [read æþelum] frægn.

OE tr. Apollonius of Tyre (1958) xiv. 20 Se iunga man þe þu æfter axsodest is forliden man.

c1225 (?c1200) St. Margaret (Bodl.) (1934) 38 (MED) Cuð me & ken þet ich easki efter.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 8489 Þe king..bad æuerælcne mon axien after Mærlin.

c1330 (?c1300) Amis & Amiloun (Auch.) (1937) 679 (MED) After his douhter he asked swiþe.

c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. v. l. 543 I seygh neuere palmere..Axen after hym.

a1438 Bk. Margery Kempe (1940) i. 96 (MED) Þer was comyn a preste..speryng & inqwyryng diligently aftyr þe seyd creatur.

1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) ii. l. 55 His men eftir him askit thai.

a1500 (a1450) Partonope of Blois (BL Add.) (1912) l. 608 (MED) A-none hym axed thys worthy kynge After hys Neuowe, Partonope.

1589 W. Warner Pan his Syrinx xxvii. sig. M Not omitting to enquire after those in Quest of whome they thus sailed.

1611 Bible (King James) Deut. xii. 30 That thou enquire not after their gods.

1670 F. Vernon Let. 14 Dec. in H. Oldenburg Corr. (1970) VII. 323 The Italians are not very Curious after Sciences.

1675 I. Newton Let. 30 Nov. (1959) I. 359 An ancient Gentleman I met..being thick of hearing desired me to inquire after ye form of Mr Mace's Otocousticon.

1745 E. Haywood Female Spectator I. vi. 370 She assured her that the Child she enquired after was alive, and a fine Boy.

1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 146. 193 He..is sometimes provoked by importunate inquiries after the white bear.

1775 R. B. Sheridan Rivals ii. i I told him you had sent me to inquire after his health.

1822 Ld. Byron Werner iii. i Asking after you With nobly-born impatience.

1869 Atlantic Monthly Jan. 87/2 England was satisfied with iron from Sweden without being impertinently inquisitive after her painters and statuaries.

1888 J. W. Burgon Lives Twelve Good Men I. i. 69 He inquired after my standing in the University.

1915 C. S. Churchill Let. 15 Dec. in W. S. Churchill & C. S. Churchill Speaking for Themselves (1999) vi. 134 The P.M. snuffled & asked after you & asked if you were happy.

1951 Pop. Sci. Sept. 240/2 You omit to ask after the health of his aged mother.

2006 Courier Mail (Austral.) (Nexis) 29 Dec. 20 I got on the phone and rang three other couples who have seven or eight kids and inquired after their health.

c. With verbs of hailing or calling, as call, shout, whistle, etc.

(a) So as to attract the attention of (a person moving away from the subject); in the direction of (a departing person).

ΚΠ

OE Ælfric Old Test. Summary: Kings (Julius) in W. W. Skeat Ælfric's Lives of Saints (1881) I. 402 Þa geseah Heliseus hu he siðode up, and clypode hlude æfter his lareowe þus: ‘Pater mi.’

c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) l. 770 As he loked along þere as oure Lorde passed, ȝet he cryed hym after.

1600 R. Surflet tr. C. Estienne & J. Liébault Maison Rustique i. xxv. 158 He must whoop and whistle after them, threatning them with his sheepe-crooke.

1684 J. Bunyan Pilgrim's Progress 2nd Pt. 205 Mr. Great-heart called after him, saying, so-ho, Friend, let us have your Company.

1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 59 (1806) II. 87 They never call after those who run away from them.

1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield I. iv. 39 The very children..will hoot after us.

1841 C. Dickens Barnaby Rudge xxxv. 140 A set of ragamuffins comes a shouting after us ‘Gordon for ever!’

1891 F. T. Elworthy 12th Rep. Comm. Devonshire Verbal Provincialisms 132 These lines used to be shouted after the children who did not come to school in time.

1936 C. Woolrich in Detective Fiction Weekly 4 July 13/1 ‘Bon voyage!’ the concierge yelled after him.

2004 L. Desoto Blade of Grass lvi. 383 ‘Watch out for snakes,’ he calls after her as she moves out of sight.

(b) In order to get; with the hope or intention of acquiring or obtaining. Now rare.With quot. ?1518 cf. the note at whistle v. 1.

ΚΠ

c1225 (?c1200) St. Juliana (Bodl.) l. 419 (MED) Ha..ȝeornliche ȝeiȝeð efter godes grace to help & to heale.

?a1300 (c1250) Prov. Hendyng (Digby) xiv, in Anglia (1881) 4 193 (MED) After help longe he may calle.

c1330 Sir Degare (Auch.) 238 in W. H. French & C. B. Hale Middle Eng. Metrical Romances (1930) 295 (MED) Þe litel child þai herde crie, And clepede after help on hie.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 17842 (MED) Anoon þei calde aftir parchemyne [Vesp. badd..giue þaim parchemin].

c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) iv. l. 6832 (MED) Goddes..After whos helpe now I clepe & calle.

?1518 Cocke Lorelles Bote sig. C.j^v Some stered at the helme behynde Some whysteled after the wynde.

1578 J. Rolland Seuin Seages 7 Sa on the morne he cryit efter his clais.

1603 H. Clapham Three Partes Salomon Song of Songs Expounded iii. iii. 149 How well may the Gentiles seede..cry after a freedome..from the rudiments of the world.

1959 Listener 10 Dec. 1034/1 For a long time now it has been fashionable to cry after new ‘textures’ in sound.

†d. With verbs of seeing or observing, as behold, aspy, etc.: in the direction of; in order to see. Obsolete.Recorded earliest (and in later use only) in to look after —— 1 at look v. Phrasal verbs 2.

ΚΠ

OE Blickling Homilies 121 Þa hie þa in þone heofon locodan æfter him, & hie Drihten gesawon upastigendne.

c1300 (?c1225) King Horn (Cambr.) (1901) l. 1093 (MED) Aþulf was in þe ture Abute, for to pure After his comynge.

c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. i. l. 14 (MED) Esteward ich byhulde after þe sonne [c1390 A text an-heiȝ to þe sonne].

?a1475 Ludus Coventriae (1922) 43 (MED) Fly fforth, þou fayr dove, ovyr þese waterys wete and aspye afftere sum drye lond.

†e. With verbs of waiting or remaining, as abide, stand, wait, etc.: in expectation of; in wait for. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > expectation > in expectation of [preposition]

afterc1175

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 6507 All þatt ȝer herode king Bad affterr þeȝȝre come. To witenn ȝiff þeȝȝ haffdenn crist.

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 7563 (MED) After betere wind hii moste þere at stonde.

c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. ii. l. 124 (MED) He was [read Hewes] in þe halyday after heten wayten.

c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) i. l. 2739 (MED) Sche so longe abood after hir knyȝt.

a1500 Craft of Dying (Rawl.) in C. Horstmann Yorkshire Writers (1896) II. 408 (MED) His welbelouyd & trusti frende..þat he had lon[g] abyd and lokid after [v.r. fore].

1515 Festyvall (W. de Worde) 79 b The abbot..stode under a pyler and abode after Thomas.

f. With verbs, adjectives, and nouns of searching, as search, hunt, etc.: in order to find (something lost, hidden, or not in one's possession).Recorded earliest in to seek after at seek v. 15.

ΚΠ

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 6273 & all forrwerrp þu towarrd himm. To sekenn affterr wræche.

c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xii. l. 217 (MED) And so I sey by þe þat sekest after þe whyes.

1566 J. Martiall Treat. Crosse ii. 6 Ægernesse in searching after bokes, and trouble in seeking after non communicants.

1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 i. i. 29 My seruant Trauers who I sent..to listen after newes.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) i. i. 63 He after Honour hunts, I after Loue.

1670 E. Browne Let. 30 May in H. Oldenburg Corr. (1970) VII. 19 They still report of searching after silver in these partes.

1707 J. Dunton Bumography p. xiii She is Courteous and Sociable to her Neighbours, but scorns to go a hunting after Gossipings.

1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 144. ⁋11 This impartial and zealous enquirer after truth.

1838 T. F. Dibdin Bibliogr. Antiquarian & Picturesque Tour Northern Counties Eng. I. 128 I did not leave Doncaster..without a rummage after a Polyglot Bible in the Parochial Library.

1892 E. S. Brookes Frontier Life xiv. 130 At one time Von Rotter..became smitten with the gold fever, spending his holidays in fossicking after the precious metal.

1937 Discovery Mar. 94/1 The genuine alchemist was an earnest searcher after truth.

2007 E. J. Wood et al. Beyond Survival vii. 143 Following up one good source may lead the user..back to the library catalog to forage after additional call numbers.

II. Senses relating to time.

a. Following in the succession of time; in succession to.

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > succession or following in time > succeeding, following, or after [preposition]

afterOE

afterwardOE

artera1746

following1841

the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > succession or following in time > succeeding, following, or after [preposition] > subsequent to

afterOE

OE Vercelli Homilies (1992) ii. 64 Þær..ne næfre dæg ne cymeð æfter dæge, ne niht æfter nihte.

OE West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) i. 30 Æfter me cymð wer þe me beforan geworden wæs.

lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough interpolation) anno 686 Heo wæs se þridde abbot æfter Saxulfe.

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 1383 (MED) Þis kimbel after is fader king was of þis londe.

a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 1445 (MED) He has a sone dere..þat schal be emperour after him.

a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1882) iv. l. 421 Al so seur as day cometh after nyght.

?a1475 Ludus Coventriae (1922) 35 (MED) Afftyr Adam..þe secunde fadyr am I.

a1500 J. Mirk's Festial (Harl. 2247) (1981) 66 (MED) This made Adam in his testament to euery Cristen creature þat shuld be born of woman after hym.

1599 A. M. tr. O. Gaebelkhover Bk. Physicke 9/1 Doe this the continuance of 9 dayes after other, every morning.

1620 T. Venner Via Recta vii. 115 They are not good to be taken after meat.

a1631 J. Donne Serm. (1954) VII. 387 That King, that comes after a good Predecessour, hath a shrewd burthen upon him.

1701 J. Prince Danmonii Orientales Illustres 338 He left..a Widow..to Turtle it after him, as he had done before.

1745 W. Harris Let. 10 Dec. in Earl of Malmesbury Lett. (1870) I. 21 By leaving what he had in money, the scramble might be made the easier among those that came after him.

1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 262 And what was it to him who ruled after him?

1858 Times 19 Nov. 5/5 One witness after another had proved that the General Company put on omnibuses wherever they had any.

1918 W. Cather My Ántonia iv. iii. 346 The windy springs and the blazing summers, one after another, had enriched and mellowed that flat tableland.

2004 Which? Aug. 28/1 So what comes after MP3? Why, MP4 of course.

b. In phrases indicating something happening continuously or repeatedly, as hour after hour, man after man, night after night, etc.See also day after day at day n. Phrases 2a, time after time at time n., int., and conj. Phrases 1i(a), word after word at word n. and int. Phrases 2a(a), year after year at year n. Phrases 2d.

ΚΠ

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 620 O þatt illke wise comm. Aȝȝ dækenn affterr dækenn.

a1225 MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 75 (MED) Ic ou wile seggen word efter word.

1674 R. Strange Life S. Thomas Cantilupe xxiii. 293 And soe strophe after strophe till the hymne was ended.

1798 S. T. Coleridge Anc. Marinere ii, in W. Wordsworth & S. T. Coleridge Lyrical Ballads 13 Day after day, day after day, We stuck, ne breath ne motion.

1816 Monthly Mag. May 367/2 Man after man is ruined, family after family is swallowed up.

1866 G. A. Sala Trip to Barbary 93 In front of the Grand Hotel gather group after group.

1893 B. Harraden Ships that Pass i. vii ‘It seems so little to ask,’ she cried to herself time after time.

1943 W. Stegner Big Rock Candy Mountain i. 23 Mile after mile, hour after hour..past windmills and discouraged plantings of saplings.

a. Subsequent to, following the interval of, at the conclusion of (a period of time).

ΚΠ

eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) i. x. 29 Hie ðær æfter hrædlice tide from þæm londleodum þurh seara ofslægene wurdon.

OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xxvii. 63 Æfter þrym dagon ic arise.

c1175 ( Homily (Bodl. 343) in S. Irvine Old Eng. Homilies (1993) 168 Crist ‘æfter six daȝum’ [L. post dies sex] fulde þæt he his þeinum bihet.

a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Gen. xl. 19 Thre panyeris ben ȝit thre daies, aftir whiche Farao schal take awei thin heed.

1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) i. 40 The land..Lay desolat eftyr hys day.

a1500 (?c1425) Speculum Sacerdotale (1936) 171 (MED) It happened after the space of þe xxx yere.

1582 Bible (Rheims) Gal. ii. 1 Then after fourtene yeres I went vp againe to Hierusalem.

1625 J. Hart Anat. Urines ii. v. 80 After a while she fell into a night feauer.

1651 J. French Art Distillation v. 109 They will after a time contract a mucilaginous slimie matter.

1743 T. Jones in Buccleuch MSS (Hist. MSS Comm.) (1899) I. 402 After 24 hours' waiting, the troops were obliged to retire.

1790 J. Adams Mod. Voy. II. lxxvi. 45 They were to meet again after a short absence.

1835 J. E. Alexander Sketches in Portugal xi. 265 After some delay before we could get our yellow quarantine-flag struck, we were allowed to land.

1877 L. P. Brockett Cross & Crescent 185 After ages of submission, they became restless and rebellious.

1937 Life 13 Sept. 39/3 (caption) After eight hours of boiling in 3,000° F., the steel is ready to be tapped into the big ladle.

2001 A. Sayle Dog Catcher 7 After a while the barman came over.

b. Subsequent to or later than (an event or point in time).

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > succession or following in time > succeeding, following, or after [preposition] > subsequent to or later than a point of time

aftereOE

eOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Parker) anno 773 Her oþiewde read Cristesmęl on hefenum æfter sunnan setlgonge.

lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1130 Ðes ilces geares com se abbot Heanri of Angeli æfter Æsterne to Burch.

a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 47 On þe ehteðe dai efter his burþe.

?a1200 (?OE) Peri Didaxeon (1896) 3 After Noes flode ymba wintra a þusund and fif hund wintra.

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 8422 (MED) Anon after midsomer þis bataile ido was.

a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 77 (MED) Þe child schuld weld al here godis..after here lif dawes.

c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 609 Soone after the mydnyght.

c1440 (?c1350) in G. G. Perry Relig. Pieces in Prose & Verse (1914) 26 (MED) Eftire þis sall þou wiete, whilke ere þe ten comandementis.

1485 Malory's Morte Darthur (Caxton) i. viii. sig. avi After the deth of the duke more than thre houres was Arthur begoten.

a1500 (?c1425) Speculum Sacerdotale (1936) 159 They schette hem in a cenakle or a sowpynge place vnto þe xi day after þe ascension in fastyngis and prayingis.

1577 R. Holinshed Hist. Scotl. 407/2 in Chron. I Adrian y^e Bishop of Romes Legate came too late, as who shuld say, a day after y^e fayre.

1588 A. King tr. P. Canisius Cathechisme or Schort Instr. 14 Æternal lyffe..for y^e chosin eftir deathe.

1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning ii. sig. Bb3 The Narration may bee before the fact, aswell as after .

1640 in J. Nicholson Minute Bk. War Comm. Covenanters Kirkcudbright 24 Nov. (1855) 98 Four dayes efter your receipt heirof.

1728 in G. Lamoine Charges to Grand Jury (1992) 261 Others, whose Attainders, soon after the Revolution, were reversed by Parliament.

1769 R. Wood Ess. Homer 60 It is allowed on all hands, that Prose writing was unknown in Greece, till long after the Poet's time.

1832 H. Martineau Hill & Valley viii. 124 It was long after dark.

1870 Ld. Tennyson Golden Supper in Holy Grail 171 The eleventh moon After their marriage.

1915 Act 5 & 6 Geo. V c.89 §38 In any accounting period which ended after the fourth day of August nineteen hundred and fourteen.

1977 O. Schell China (1978) iii. 267 After the robbery, I get decked by an incensed worker.

2008 D. Lodge Deaf Sentence (2009) ii. 16 After my test I saw the ENT consultant.

c. In stating the time of day: so many minutes, or a quarter or half of an hour, past a particular hour. In later use also with elision of the hour. Cf. half adv. 3b(b). Now chiefly North American.

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > reckoning of time > [preposition] > to or past (a certain hour)

aftera1500

till1949

a1500 in T. Wright & J. O. Halliwell Reliquiæ Antiquæ (1845) I. 319 (MED) The xix day of April, the sonne aryseth iij quarteres after iiij, and gooth downe a quartere after vij.

1519 in J. Raine Fabric Rolls York Minster (1859) 269 Prime bell to seice a quarter after ix.

?1597 J. Blagrave Apol. & Addition to Vranicall Astrolabe sig. B There shal the nooneline shew you in the hower circle almost a quarter after 6 of the clock, the time of son rising that day.

1699 G. Garden Apol. Antonia Bourignon iv. xxxvi. 284 They learn'd to read and write till half after Six.

1732 B. Lynde Diary 31 Mar. in B. Lynde & B. Lynde Diaries (1880) 24 a.m. ½ after 5 I went with son's horse.

1774 P. V. Fithian Jrnl. & Lett. (1900) 271 I..rode thence to Westmoreland Court House ten Miles by half after six.

1775 in Essex Inst. Hist. Coll. (1912) XLVIII. 52 We was preaded [i.e. paraded] about half after two in the morning.

1809 M. Edgeworth Madame de Fleury i, in Tales Fashionable Life II. 167 It was now half after four.

1853 C. Dickens Bleak House xlix. 472 ‘At half-after one.’ Says Mr. Bagnet. ‘To the minute. They'll be done.’

1905 N.Y. Evening Post 27 Jan. 3 About half after twelve the roof of the building fell in with a crash.

1961 A. Miller Misfits i. 13 ‘It's twenty after nine.’ ‘After!’ Isabelle comes farther out on the porch and calls up to a second-floor window: ‘Dear girl? It's twenty after!’

2008 L. Barclay Too Close to Home xxxvii. 344 I went to Kelly's at nine, not knowing whether he'd show up... But about five after, he came in.

a. In consequence of, as a result of, in the light of (a preceding action or event).

ΚΠ

OE Beowulf (2008) 1606 Þa þæt sweord ongan æfter heaþoswate hildegicelum..wanian.

?c1335 in W. Heuser Kildare-Gedichte (1904) 124 Sum þer beþ..Þat more haþ þan anoþer... Anoþer wol after þan Areri cuntake.

1477 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Hist. Jason (1913) 47 After that I vnderstonde by your wordes ye haue sent him from you.

1554 in Bannatyne Misc. (1855) III. 77 Efter the obite of Erile Halcon succedit Erile Rolland.

1609 S. Daniel Civile Wares (rev. ed.) viii. xciv. 227 Sit downe, And rest you, after all this passed thrall.

1677 T. Baker Let. 15 June in S. P. Rigaud & S. J. Rigaud Corr. Sci. Men 17th Cent. (1841) (modernized text) II. 29 If after the perusal it may be thought fit to have it printed, [etc.].

1722 D. Defoe Moll Flanders 165 That's not a fair Question, says I, after what you have said.

1753 J. Hanway Hist. Acct. Brit. Trade Caspian Sea II. xxxiii. 206 After what has been said..we may contemplate the superior charms of liberty.

1841 W. L. MacCalla Adventures in Texas 46 After such an address from a citizen of that calumniated country.., I took the liberty of withdrawing to another apartment.

1877 W. Lytteil Landmarks Sc. Life & Lang. i. iv. 34 After what has been already said, any one will readily see that [etc.].

1946 Liberty 1 June 36/2 Hasn't a guy got a right to a few snorts after what happened to me?

1998 A. Wood EastEnders (BBC TV script) (O.E.D. Archive) Episode 670. 34 I've had it with him Roy, especially after what he did to Robbie.

b. In spite of, notwithstanding (a preceding action or event).

ΚΠ

a1500 ( J. Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. (Rawl.) (1898) 153 Aftyr all this glorie, hym befell the fowle dethe.

a1500 (?c1425) Speculum Sacerdotale (1936) 129 (MED) After all this þe seynt was hole and semyd as a man vnhurtyd.

1578 J. Lyly Euphues f. 30^v After all his strife he [sc. Menelaus] wan but a Strumpet.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) v. i. 339 Harke how the villaine would close now, after his treasonable abuses.

1674 N. Fairfax Treat. Bulk & Selvedge 24 After all this wheeling about, we are not a step further than we were.

1710 S. Palmer Moral Ess. Prov. 69 After all our complaints of the lawyers and the law, there is no man in this kingdom too big for either.

1763 Case & Replication Legal Representatives J. Clifford 100 If justice be denied after such request, it is reasonable to arm him with power, to take satisfaction by reprize.

1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas III. vii. ii. 35 After this, if you do not play your cards, it is your own fault.

1877 Southern Hist. Soc. Papers 3 176 Such a rebuke to negotiation after a civil war of half this magnitude in any European nation, probably would have called down the intervention of its neighbors.

1915 J. Hay Man who Forgot viii. 83 He was wondering that she should be so friendly..toward him after his behaviour two days before.

1964 Life 10 Apr. 72/2 It was funny because, after all that, he had spelled the name wrong.

1996 H. Fielding Bridget Jones's Diary (1997) 269 I can't believe you're being so mean, darling. After all I've done for you.

c. after all (also U.S. afterall): in spite of any indications or expectations to the contrary; when all is said and done, nevertheless.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > testing > attestation, witness, evidence > qualification > [adverb] > however, nevertheless, notwithstanding

though-whetherc897

nathelesseOE

though971

whetherOE

yetOE

neverlOE

what for-thyc1175

nethelessa1200

never the latterc1225

algatec1230

in spite of (despite, maugre, etc.) one's teethc1230

nought for thatc1275

(all) for noughtc1325

(in) spite of one's nosec1325

alway1340

thoughless1340

ne'er the later (also latter)a1382

ne'er the lessa1382

neverlatera1382

neverthelessa1382

ne for-thia1400

neverlessa1400

not-againstandinga1400

nauthelessc1400

nouthelessc1400

algatesc1405

noughtwithstanding1422

netherless?a1425

notwithstanding1425

nethertheless1440

not gainstandingc1440

not the lessa1450

alwaysa1470

howbeit1470

never þe quedera1475

nought the lessc1480

what reck?a1513

nonetheless1533

howsomever1562

after all1590

in spite of spite1592

meantime1594

notwithstand1596

withal1596

in the meanwhile1597

meanwhile1597

howsoever1601

in (one's) spite?1615

however1623

in the meantime1631

non obstante1641

at the same time1679

with a non-obstante to1679

stilla1699

the same1782

all the same1803

quand même1825

still and all1829

anyhow1867

anyway1876

still and ona1894

all the samey1897

just the same1901

but1939

the mind > attention and judgement > testing > attestation, witness, evidence > qualification > [adverb] > at all events, at any rate

alwayc1405

alwaysa1413

of all hands1548

when all is said and done?1570

after all1590

howevera1616

at all rates1667

at any rate1730

whether or no1784

anyhow1799

anyways1828

anyhows1830

anyway1832

any road1855

anywise1859

whatever1870

any old how1900

anyhoo1924

nohow1926

anyroads1929

1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene ix. 539 Yet after all, he victour did suruiue.

1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding i. iv. 35 Not that I want a due respect to other Mens Opinions; but after all, the greatest reverence is due to Truth.

1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 462. ⁋1 But after all he is very pleasant Company.

a1774 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued (1777) III. iv. xxix. 154 And after all perhaps we have no greater enjoyments among us than those of eating when we are hungry.

1809 W. Irving Hist. N.Y. II. vii. viii. 239 Yet after all he was a mere mortal.

1846 Ld. Tennyson in Punch 10 106/1 Surely, after all, The noblest answer unto such Is kindly silence when they brawl.

1876 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest I. ii. 20 The Roman occupation was, after all, very superficial.

1906 Arizona Republican 10 Sept. 6/3 Fifty-three job holders were assassinated in Russia last month. After all, that is cheaper than muck-raking them out of their jobs.

1932 L. Golding Magnolia St. ii. ii. 295 Perhaps, after all, it'll be a good match. There will be a simchah.

1976 Billings (Montana) Gaz. 1 July (Advt. Suppl.) Afterall, the movement of people, not vehicles, is what counts.

2008 J. Armstrong & S. Bain Peep Show 5th Ser. Episode 5. 312/1 It's not such a drag the fest being strictly drink- and drugs-free after all, is it?

III. Senses relating to order.

8. Next to in point of order or importance. Formerly also (in negative constructions): †with the exception of, save (obsolete).

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > preceding or following in order > precede or follow in order [preposition] > next in order

afterOE

OE tr. Defensor Liber Scintillarum (1969) lvi. 336 Hieronimus dixit bonum est quidem post deum amare parentes ac filios : sæde god hit ys witodlice æfter Gode lufian magas & bearn.

c1175 ( in A. O. Belfour 12th Cent. Homilies in MS Bodl. 343 (1909) 44 Æfter ðissum weccæn þa festene beoð hihtlice to lufitenne [read lufiȝenne; OE Vercelli æfter þissum gehyhtlice fylgað þa fæstenu; L. post haec congrue sequuntur ieiunia].

c1225 (?c1200) St. Margaret (Bodl.) (1934) 30 (MED) Ich habbe, efter Belzebub, meast monnes bone ibeon.

a1250 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 6 (MED) To þe one is al mi trust, efter þine leoue sune.

?a1300 Iacob & Iosep (Bodl.) (1916) l. 207 (MED) Ich wole þe make richest man after oure kinge.

c1390 Roberd of Cisyle (Vernon) (1930) l. 23 (MED) A strengur weorreour nas non founde, After his broþer of Cisyle.

?c1430 (c1400) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 188 (MED) No man, after crist, was holyere þan baptist.

a1475 (?a1350) Seege Troye (Harl.) (1927) l. 830 (MED) Agamenoun..after Euluxes Þe best knyght in his kyndom was.

a1475 Sidrak & Bokkus (Lansd.) (Ph.D. diss., Univ. of Washington) (1965) l. 6648 (MED) After mete and drinke is rest To norisshe þe body..best.

1584 J. Southern Pandora sig. B.i^v Syluer Pheb, is the after, most clare.

1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. xxxi. vii. 416 The Tarentine salt was in old time highly commended aboue the best: after which they esteemed most, all the sea salts.

1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Pastorals vii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 32 Codrus after Phœbus sings the best.

1759 Mod. Part Universal Hist. IX. 508 After Guam, this is the largest, and was formerly the best peopled of all these islands.

1777 W. Jones Arcadia 105 And after Pan thy lips will grace it best.

1811 J. Black tr. A. von Humboldt Polit. Ess. New Spain III. 130 Tin..after Titanium, Scheelin and Molybdena is the oldest metal of the globe.

1864 Ld. Tennyson Enoch Arden in Enoch Arden, etc. 24 ‘I am content’ he answer'd ‘to be loved A little after Enoch.’

1903 W. L. Dawson Birds of Ohio II. 407 The Red-shouldered Buzzard is, after the Sparrow Hawk, the commonest bird of prey in the state.

1943 W. Lewis Let. 26 Jan. (1963) 343 This [sc. Canada] is after Africa the second largest gold-producing centre on the planet.

2005 S. Wales Evening Post (Nexis) 29 Dec. 13 It [sc. Cardiff] is..the city in the UK with the highest number of railway-borne commuters, after London.

IV. Senses relating to manner or style.

9. Frequently in to do after in senses B. 9b, B. 9c.

†a. On the authority of, as stated by, according to (an author or text). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > order > agreement, harmony, or congruity > conformity to or with a pattern, etc. > according to [preposition] > the statements of

afterOE

OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 87 Æfter Donatum, þam lareowe, synd twa figura: simplex..et composita.

c1175 ( Homily in A. O. Belfour 12th Cent. Homilies in MS Bodl. 343 (1909) 52 Þe mon þe ða synne edlæcð..is, æfter bocenæ saȝum, ilice ȝeþeawod þam hundun þe æt þæt he ær speaw.

a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 77 (MED) After ðe hali writes, ealch miede is iteld for gauele.

c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Parson's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) §410 And after the word of Seint Augustyn, it is sorwe of oother mennes wele.

?c1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (Paris) (1971) 74 Smale apostemes, after auicen, ben out semynges & bleynes [etc.].

1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 230/4 She bad that the passyon after luke shold be redde.

1584 T. Cogan Hauen of Health vii. 28 Otes, after Galen, haue like nature as barlie.

1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. vii. lvi. 188 Anacharsis the Scythian, or after some, Hyperbios the Corinthian, invented the cast of turning the roundell or globe.

b. In obedience to, in compliance or harmony with, according to (a law, will, order, advice, etc.). Now archaic and rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > subjection > obedience > in obedience to [preposition]

afterOE

OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Luke ii. 22 Impleti sunt dies purgationis eius secundum legem Mosi : gefylled wer dagas clænsunges his æfter ae [OE Rushw. æfter æ Moyses].

OE West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) xii. 47 Soþlice þæne þeow þe his hlafordes willan wiste & ne dyde æfter his hlafordes willan [L. non fecit secundum voluntatem eius], he biþ witnad manegum witum.

OE Paris Psalter (1932) cxviii. 149 Gehyr mine stefne, halig drihten, æfter ðinre þære myclan mildheortnesse [L. secundum misericordiam tuam], and æfter þinum domum [L. secundum iudicium tuum] do me halne.

lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) anno 1121 Æfter þes cynges willan hi wið hine acordedan.

lOE tr. Trinubium Sanctae Annae in W. Keller Probleme der Englischen Sprache u. Kultur (1925) 116 Æfter Cleophas deaðe, Anna æfter þære lage genam þone þridde were.

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 120 Eȝȝþerr here ȝede swa. Rihht affterr godess lare.

a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 9 (MED) Alswa hefden þe giwis heore sinagoge efter moises laȝe alswa we habbet nu chirche efter drihtenes laȝe.

c1300 (?c1225) King Horn (Laud) (1901) l. 462 (MED) Hy schal wite more And don after þi lore.

c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 2891 (MED) Wel sone dude þe Amyrel after ys counseil riȝt.

a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) l. 47 (MED) Alle thing he ordaynd aftir is wille.

1477 Earl Rivers tr. Dictes or Sayengis Philosophhres (Caxton) (1877) lf. 11 Whether they haue obserued it [sc. a command] after theyr charge or nat.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Chron. xxix. B Yf he be constant to do after my commaundementes.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) John xix. 7 After our lawe he ought to dye.

1628 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy (ed. 3) iii. ii. iii. 492 To make good Musicke of their owne voices, and dance after it.

1672 F. B. Office Good House-wife 9 Let him not spare somtimes to seem to do after their advice..; For they will work with more cheerfulness, when they think that the matter is carryed according to their invention.

1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 94 At the end of their Quarentine, which is Forty days, after the Old Law, they enter the Hummums to purify.

1899 J. L. Weston tr. G. von Strassburg Story of Tristan & Iseult (1902) I. 80 Ask them what they deem good for the present need and do after their advice.

†c. In compliance with the wishes of, at the request or command of (a person). Obsolete.

ΚΠ

c1225 (?c1200) Sawles Warde (Bodl.) (1938) 3 (MED) I þis hus is þe huse lauerd, ant te fulitohe wif mei beon wil ihaten þet ga þe hus efter hire; ha diht hit al to wundre.

a1275 St. Margaret (Trin. Cambr.) l. 224 in A. S. M. Clark Seint Maregrete & Body & Soul (Ph.D. diss., Univ. of Michigan) (1972) 77 Do after me ant be my wif, ne be þe þi lif so loet.

c1350 Gregorius (Cleo.) (1914) l. 150 (MED) And þou wolle do after me, To mi court ȝeo schal beo ibrouȝt.

a1450 Castle Perseverance (1969) l. 1262 Þou art rewlyd aftyr þe fende..And noþynge certys aftyr me.

a1500 (a1450) Generides (Trin. Cambr.) 6795 (MED) Madame..woll ye do After me?

a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. xxii. 278 Pylate, do after vs, And dam to deth Iesus.

1592 (?a1425) Chester Plays (BL Add.) (1843) I. 31 (MED) Thou haste not donne after me..But donne to her byddinge.

10.

a. In accordance with, according to (an example, manner, pattern, custom, idea, etc.).after a fashion: see fashion n. 5b. after a sort: see sort n.² 22. after the manner of: see manner n. 3a.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > behaviour > a standard of conduct > standard of conduct [preposition] > in conformity with

afterOE

till1340

OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) xiv. 139 Hi æton þæt lamb æfter ðam ealdan gewunan.

c1300 (c1250) Floris & Blauncheflur (Cambr.) (1966) l. 338 Þert icome..To makie a tur after þis cast.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iv. l. 2651 (MED) Hou that men schal the wordes pike After the forme of eloquence.

?c1430 (c1400) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 193 Ȝif prestis seyn here matynes, masse, & euensong aftir salisbury vsse.

1484 W. Caxton tr. G. de la Tour-Landry Bk. Knight of Tower (1971) cx. 147 (heading) To be charytable after thexemplary of our lady.

a1500 (?c1425) Speculum Sacerdotale (1936) 54 (MED) After the custom of the kyngdom of Colayne..there is tythyng of dayes.

1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry i. f. 42^v To wynnowe it after the olde fashion with the winde.

1647 T. May Hist. Parl. ii. ii. 34 Their..cause lay bleeding in Ireland after so deplorable a kinde.

1672 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 7 5103 The Complex of the Planets, disposed and order'd..after the Copernican way.

1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 193. ⁋3 The levée of a great man is laid after the same manner.

1793 Literary & Biogr. Mag. Dec. 428/1 The temple of Ceres at Eleusis, which was erected after his own ideas, joined to the counsels of ignorant priests, was so destitute of good taste.

1833 T. De Quincey Revol. Greece in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Apr. 495/2 Managing the campaign after his own ideas, he speedily involved himself in quarrels.

1855 C. Dickens Little Dorrit (1857) i. i. 3 Handsome after its kind.

1879 W. B. Carpenter Princ. Mental Physiol. (ed. 5) i. ii. §82. 85 To build after one particular pattern.

1918 N. Bartley Bargain True xv. 238 He took her gravely to task for..fancying the world to be regulated after her own notions.

2004 R. Dew & P. Pape No Backup i. 6 Woven moccasins called opanci, which had a curled toe after the Turkish custom.

b. In the manner of, in the same way as; in emulation of; like. Also with verbs of naming or designating: in imitation or memory of (see also name v. 1c).Cf. to take after —— at take v. Phrasal verbs 2.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > relationship > similarity > [preposition] > like, nearly, or as if

afterOE

toward1541

towards1563

OE tr. Apollonius of Tyre (1958) i. 2 An Antiochia þare ceastre wæs sum cyningc Antiochus gehaten: æfter þæs cyninges naman wæs seo ceastre [perh. read ceaster] Antiochia geciged.

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 11300 Swa þatt te faderr wurrþe firrst. Iechonyas ȝehatenn. & allse hiss sune efft affterr himm. Beo iechoniass nemmnedd.

a1275 (?c1200) Prov. Alfred (Trin. Cambr.) (1955) 110 (MED) Ofte mused þe catt after þe moder.

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 1409 (MED) Þe nexte monþe..He let after him clupie august.

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xv. v. 728 He gadred moche folke..and toke Armenia and clepid it aftir his owne name.

c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) l. 5409 (MED) More hij ben þan olyfaunz, Blake-heueded after a palfray.

c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 125 Frenssh she spak..After the scole of Stratford at the Bowe.

c1430 (c1386) G. Chaucer Legend Good Women (Cambr. Gg.4.27) (1879) l. 1072 Eneas..Aftyr Venus hadde he swich fayrnesse That no man myghte be half so fayr.

1484 W. Caxton tr. G. de la Tour-Landry Bk. Knight of Tower (1971) xx. 39 That she be arayed after the good ladyes of the Countre.

c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 1613 Rome..was set..Tild vpon Tiber after Troy like.

1543 ( Chron. J. Hardyng (1812) 42 This kyng Brutus..when he had the Isle all tripertyed, He called the chyefe Logres after Locryne.

?1577 F. T. Debate Pride & Lowlines sig. Ciii^v And [they] were clothed after citiȝen.

1601 A. Munday tr. J. Teixeira Strangest Aduenture 83 Some were attired after the French, others like Hollanders.

1630 tr. G. Botero Relations Famous Kingdomes World (rev. ed.) 513 The Asians they terme after their owne name, Turks; but the Europians, Rumi, that is, Romans.

1691 T. Downes Exam. Arguments from Scripture & Reason 22 His Arguments against the Bishop's do equally conclude against his own Directions; and thus I argue after him.

1710 R. Steele Tatler No. 228. ⁋4 I must..copy after an old Almanack which I have by me.

1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 2. ⁋1 Sir Roger de Coverley. His Great Grand-father was Inventor of that famous Country-Dance which is called after him.

1795 E. Gibbon Autobiogr. 74 After his oracle Dr. Johnson, my friend..denies all original genius.

1839 H. Hallam Introd. Lit. Europe III. v. 470 Some are said to dress after a lady for whom nature has done more than for themselves.

1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 491 A succession of bands designated, as was the fashion of that age, after their leaders.

1865 Fraser's Mag. Dec. 751/2 Arguing (after De Quincey) that a succession of passiuncles exhausts the soil of the heart.

1908 U. Sinclair Metropolis xvi. 279 Here was a woman who costumed herself after figures in famous paintings.

1924 A. F. Major tr. J. Brøndsted Early Eng. Ornament iii. 293 He christens them [sc. rune-stones] after the reddish sandstone,..the ‘Ringerike Group’.

1995 C. Hamnett in T. Butler & M. Savage Social Change & Middle Classes xv. 262 Jager argues, after Baudrillard, that socially produced objects can express the same logic as conspicuous leisure.

c. In imitation of, in the style of (an artist or work). Also: in resemblance of, representing (a person or thing).

ΚΠ

OE Genesis B 396 He hæfð mon geworhtne æfter his onlicnesse.

OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 14 Sume syndon facticia, þa synd geworhte æfter gelicnysse agenes sweges: tintinnabolum belle, turtur turtle.

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 18824 Þatt arrke..iss wrohht off tre. Affterr þin herrtess arrke.

c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) l. 335 (MED) He took virgyne waxe And made a popet after þe quene.

?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 109 (MED) Symulacres ben ymages made after lykness of men..or of the mone or of ony best.

a1438 Bk. Margery Kempe (1940) i. 77 (MED) An ymage..mad aftyr our Lord.

c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 8758 A meruelous ymage, All grauen of gold..Amyt after Ector.

1558 (a1449) J. Lydgate Minor Poems (1911) i. 290 (MED) Se this glorious fygure, Whiche Sent Luke of our lady lyvynge After her lyknes made in picture.

1634 W. Tirwhyt tr. J. L. G. de Balzac Lett. 120 Nor will I believe he was made after the image of God, lest therein I should wrong so excellent a nature.

1667 E. Waterhouse Short Narr. Fire London 90 She seems to be framed after the Protoplast of the Nation, that she answers every feature and digestion of parts in the Greater Body.

1762 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Painting II. i. 31 Nicholas, the second son..while abroad modelled after the antiques.

1845 A. Jameson Handbk. Publ. Galleries 313 Venus and Cupid..a copy after Titian.

1850 A. Jameson Sacred & Legendary Art 1 A portfolio of prints after the old masters.

1912 Times 3 June 6/1 The velvet brocade material..was woven after an English design.

1990 Antique Collector Oct. 64 (caption) A painted enamel plaque after Philippe Mercier.

2002 J. Grieve tr. M. Proust In Shadow of Young Girls in Flower ii. 386 At the very bottom of this Harmony in Grey and Pink after Whistler, a tiny moth [etc.].

†11. In a manner proportionate to; as befitting, appropriate to. Obsolete (archaic in later use).

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > order > agreement, harmony, or congruity > suitability or appropriateness > in a manner suitable to [preposition]

afterOE

according1549

OE Vercelli Homilies (1992) iii. 74 Æfter þam gemete þære dæde, he sceal him þa hreowsunge gedeman.

OE Ælfric Old Eng. Hexateuch: Gen. (Claud.) i. 25 God ða geworhte ðære eorðan deor æfter heora hiwum..& eall creopende cynn on heora cynne.

a1225 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Lamb.) l. 64 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 163 (MED) And ȝeuen us ure swinkes lan efter ure erninge.

c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 67 Ancre..ah to leaden heard lif, as dude þe leafdi iudith, efter hire euene.

a1350 in G. L. Brook Harley Lyrics (1968) 69 We bueþ dempned after vr dede a domesday.

a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 1936 (MED) No man..schuld mow deuise men richlier a-raid..þe grete after here degre in þe gaiest wise, & menere men as þei miȝt.

1432 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VI (Electronic ed.) Parl. May 1432 §36. m. 6 There should no man ben amerced bote after þe quantite of his trespas.

a1475 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (Laud) (1885) 124 (MED) Þe kynges right grete charge..shalbe more or lesse, aftir thair longe or shorte demure.

1549 T. Solme in H. Latimer 2nd Serm. before Kynges Maiestie To Rdr. sig. Avi Cut thy cloth after the mesure.

?1566–7 G. Buchanan Opinion Reformation Univ. St. Andros in Vernacular Writings (1892) 9 Thyr classis salbe..promovit hyear efter thair meritis.

1611 Bible (King James) Psalms xxviii. 4 Giue them after the worke of their handes.

a1626 F. Bacon Considerations War with Spain in Wks. (1874) XIV. 469 According to bulk and currency and not after their intrinsick value.

1714 T. Ellwood Hist. Life (1765) 234 We followed after our own Pace.

1861 G. W. Dasent tr. Story Burnt Njal I. lvi. 184 As for the rest of the manslaughters, they were paid for after the worth of the men.

†12. At the rate of. Cf. after the rate of at rate n.¹ 4a. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > monetary value > price > [preposition] > at the rate of

after1469

1469 W. Ebesham in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 392 Item, for de Regimine Principum which conteyneth xlv^ti leves aftir a peny a leef, which is right wele worth.

1482 J. Dalton Let. 27 Jan. in Cely Lett. (1975) 129 I bowght vj^c peltys after iiij s. iiij d. a C and lytyll moor.

1512 in T. Percy Regulations & Establishm. Houshold Fifth Earl of Northumberland (1768) 3 Of Shids at Lekyngfeld in the Wodyarde xxx lode after viij d. the lode.

1587 W. Harrison Hist. Descr. Iland Brit. (new ed.) ii. i. 137/1 in Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) I If these paie after foure shillings for land, the cleargie contribute commonlie after six shillings of the pound.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) ii. i. 232 Ile rent the fairest house in it after three pence a Bay.

1643 H. Slingsby Diary (1836) 94 Have their pay after 6 shillings a week.

1718 Terrier in Shropshire Parish Documents (1903) 19 There is a dispute..whether the odd Lambs are to be..after threepence or three half-pence apiece.

C. conj.

1. Subsequent to the time when. Cf. branch B. II.

a. Forming a compound conjunction.

†(a) With pronoun and relative word. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > succession or following in time > succession [conjunction] > when, after, or after the time that

aftereOE

afterOE

thatOE

aftertime1443

afterward1483

artera1746

OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xxvi. 32 Æfter þam þe ic of deaþe arise ic cume to eow on Galilea.

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 7667 Affterr þatt tatt he wass dæd Ne toc ȝho wiþþ nan oþerr. Acc ledde siþþenn widdwe lif.

a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 51 (MED) Efterþan þet þe mon bið dead, me leið þene licome in þere þruh.

(b) With relative word only (chiefly that). Now Caribbean.

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > succession or following in time > succession [conjunction] > when, after, or after the time that

aftereOE

afterOE

thatOE

aftertime1443

afterward1483

artera1746

eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) iv. xxiii. 326 Æfter þon [OE Corpus Cambr. æfter ðon þe] he hine gereste medmicel fæc, ða ahof hine up.

OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Luke ii. 22 Postquam impleti sunt dies purgationis eius..tulerunt illum in Hierusalem : æfter ðon gefylled wer dagas clænsunges his..lædon hine in Hierusalem.

?a1200 (?OE) Peri Didaxeon (1896) 43 Æfter þæt seo blodlæse si ȝefylled, þu hine scealt scearpiȝean.

a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 139 (MED) Sunnendei fond noe lond efter þet ure drihten hefde þet folc adreint.

c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) l. 2928 (MED) After þat he spused wore, Wolde þe erl nouth dwelle þore, But sone nam until his lond.

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Jer. xxxvi. 27 And don is the wrd of the Lord to Jeremye, the profete, after that the king hadde brent the volum.

c1425 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Harl.) 230 After þat Saxons & Englysse verst come þys lond to.

c1450 Speculum Christiani (Harl. 6580) (1933) 24 (MED) Bot after that we haue for-sake oure-selfe, we be mych more fre fro besynes of hem.

1535 M. Coverdale Jer. xxxvi. 27 After now that the kynge had brente the boke.

1611 Bible (King James) Jer. xxxvi. 27 After that the king had burnt the roule.

1658 E. Ashmole Way to Bliss iii. ii. 183 Agricola saith..that Salt-Peter, after that by draining it hath lost its taste and virtue, if it be laid open in the Weather, will within five or six years space, grow and ripen.

1981 Advocate News (Barbados) 14 Feb. 1 It is only after that this is done, that the Government will appoint someone to talk to them.

1996 R. Allsopp Dict. Caribbean Eng. Usage 14/2 After when she came back, dey went to de beach.

b. As a simple conjunction.

ΚΠ

a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 679 (MED) After he was a-waked a ful long þrowe, he wende ful witerly [etc.].

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1874) V. 357 (MED) He..deide þe ȝere after he hadde ifonge þe fey of holy chirche.

?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 116 (MED) After þei han slayn hem, þei spryngen the blood vpon the ydole.

a1464 J. Capgrave Chron. Eng. (Cambr.) 62 (MED) This empoure Claudius was so oblivious that, sone aftir he had killid his wyf, he asked why sche came not to soper.

1526 Bible (Tyndale) Matt. xxvi. 32 After I am rysen ageyne. [ Wyclif After that I schal rise aȝen.]

1588 A. King tr. P. Canisius Cathechisme or Schort Instr. 31 Efter we knaw the law maker, we may rewerence him ye mair.

1623 N. Ferrar Diary 4 Mar. in D. R. Ransome 17th-cent. Polit. & Financial Papers (1996) i. 52 After the Match was interteyned itt was never mentioned.

c1680 A. Wood Hist. & Antiq. Univ. Oxf. (1792) I. 60 After he had feasted the Scholars at his Inception, they like clownes left him.

1753 J. Hanway Hist. Acct. Brit. Trade Caspian Sea II. vi. 29 After the Portuguese had settled themselves in East India.

1772 L. Carter Diary 9 Oct. (1965) II. 738 Lead water is good to dry up a wound after it has well digested its matter.

1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. 10 A few days after the Revolution had been accomplished.

1896 Argosy Mar. 595/1 After they had refreshed themselves, they were assigned to their rooms.

1928 R. Jeffers Cawdor & Other Poems 17 Months later, after the rains began and cramped His migrant hunting, he thought [etc.].

2005 M. M. Frisby Wifebeater xxxiii. 235 After she got dressed she came strutting back into the living room.

†2. In the manner in which; according to what or how. Cf. branch B. IV.

a. Forming a compound conjunction.

(a) With pronoun and relative. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) i. xv. 60 Æfter þon þe heo lærdon [L. secundum ea quae docebant], heo sylfe þurh all lifdon.

OE Vercelli Homilies (1992) xi. 223 Þæt we þurh þæt mægen..wæstmas godra wiorca on þære toweardan worulde gesamnigan, æfter þan þe hit on sealmum awriten is: Qui seminaþ [etc.].

a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 81 (MED) After ðat ðe ðin mildce ys michel, haue ore of mine michele senne.

?c1250 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Egerton) l. 358 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 181 (MED) Sume þer habbet lasse murhðe and sume habbed more, after þan þe hi dude her.

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Gen. xliii. 7 We answerden to hym, sewynglich, after þat, þat he askyde.

a1500 Rule Minoresses in W. W. Seton Two 15th Cent. Franciscan Rules (1914) 84 (MED) Sche may haue two cotis or þre or foure, after þat as it schal beste lyke to þe Abbesse.

(b) With relative only (that or as). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > order > agreement, harmony, or congruity > conformity to or with a pattern, etc. > in conformity with or according to [phrase] > according as

according asa1225

after1587

thereafter as1728

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) Ded. l. 99 Himm bidde icc þatt het write rihht..All þwerrt ut affterr þatt itt iss. Vpp o þiss firrste bisne.

a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 93 Godes temple is ȝerard uppe..after ðat ðe apostel seið: Tempilum dei, quod estis uos.

c1330 (?c1300) Speculum Guy (Auch.) (1898) l. 264 (MED) Riht after þat man haþ don, He shal fonge his iugement.

c1426 J. Audelay Poems (1931) 17 (MED) Vche person schuld haue his part after þat he had ned.

a1450 Lay Folks Mass Bk. (Corpus Oxf.) (1879) l. 8 If a M^l clerkes did noght els, After þat þe boke tels..Ȝitte soulde thay neuere fifte parte.

1460 M. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 259 It is solde ryth well aftyr þat the wole was, for the moste part was ryte febyll.

1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. xiv. 230 After as any of these three powers doe reigne and beare sway.

c1600 (?c1395) Pierce Ploughman's Crede (Trin. Cambr. R.3.15) (1873) 732 But after þat his wynnynge is, is his well-fare.

b. As a simple conjunction. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > order > agreement, harmony, or congruity > conformity to or with a pattern, etc. > according as [conjunction]

afterc1300

c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) l. 2810 (MED) After godrich haues wrouht..Lokes þat ye demen him rith.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 8888 (MED) O quens had he hundrets seuen..Efter þe laghes war in þaa dais.

c1440 ( J. Gaytryge Lay Folks' Catech. (Thornton) in G. G. Perry Relig. Pieces in Prose & Verse (1914) 7 Ilke cristene mane awe..to take efter his elde es.

1484 W. Caxton tr. G. de la Tour-Landry Bk. Knight of Tower (1971) xxxix. 63 Bere honoure to euery one after he is worthy.

1634 Malory's Most Anc. Hist. Prince Arthur ii. cviii. sig. Aa3^v Euery knight after hee was of prowesse.

Phrases

P1. after one's own heart: see heart n. 7.

P2. after the flesh: see flesh n. 12.

†P3. after the hand: after the event; afterwards. Cf. afterhand adv. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iv. l. 893 (MED) Bot whanne he hath his cause lore, Thanne is he wys after the hond.

1616 G. Markham tr. C. Estienne et al. Maison Rustique (rev. ed.) v. xxii. 586 This part must be made reasonable stiffe, because the weake paste euer falleth after the hand.

P4.

a. after you is manners and variants: a polite formula used (frequently humorously or self-consciously) in yielding precedence. Cf. after you at Phrases 4b. Now rare.

ΚΠ

1580 A. Saker Narbonus 90 The common saying is: after you is maners.

1650 R. Heath Epigrams 33, in Clarastella Oh! after him is manners.

a1652 R. Brome Queen & Concubine iii. vii. 61 in Five New Playes (1659) Cur. Wilt thou be a Scholar? Andr. After you is manners. Cur. Now by mine intellect, discreetly spoken.

1721 J. Kelly Compl. Coll. Scotish Prov. 42 After you is good Manners. Spoken when our Betters offer to serve us first.

1798 J. O'Keeffe Czar Peter iii. ii, in Dramatic Wks. III. 192 Stop, friend! after me is manners.

1849 Southern Cross (Auckland, N.Z.) 16 Oct. ‘Come, then, you begin.’ ‘No, you.’ ‘After you is manners.’

1899 R. Whiteing No. 5 John St. xiv. 139 I remember the fine-company style of Tildor's tea-party, ‘After you's manners’, whenever we passed the plate.

1922 J. Joyce Ulysses 472 (He stands aside at the threshold.) After you is good manners.

b. after you: a polite formula used in yielding precedence; ‘you go first’. Also with with: used to request the next turn with (something).

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > courtesy > courteous act or expression > courteous formulae [phrase] > in yielding precedence

after you1734

1734 H. Fielding Don Quixote in Eng. ii. xi. 36 After you, Sir; I am not quite unbred.

1768 O. Goldsmith Good Natur'd Man iii. 37 After you, Sir.

1851 Tait's Edinb. Mag. Oct. 590/1 After you with the paper, if you please, sir.

1898 B. M. Croker Peggy of Bartons xvii. 172 No, no; after you, please—ladies first.

1917 Atlantic Monthly Mar. 408/2 After you with the fire, mate.

1955 E. Pound Classic Anthol. iii. 152 Taught 'em to bow and stand aside, Say: after you, and: if you please.

2005 H. Mantel Beyond Black (2006) ix. 291 They arrived in the utility room at the same time..and stood saying coldly, after you, no, after you.

P5. to be after.

(a) To be trying to get or achieve (something).

ΚΠ

1680 W. Petyt Britannia Languens v. 59 The French and Dutch have been after our Wooll since they set up their Woollen Manufactures; why have they and their Agents been lurking on our Coasts..to filch it away for so many years?

1775 R. B. Sheridan Rivals v. ii. 152 What tricks are you after now?

1895 Munsey's Mag. Sept. 581/2 I wonder what he is after?

1936 P. G. Wodehouse Laughing Gas iv. 49 That's all she's after—the title.

2001 K. Sampson Outlaws (2002) 239 I'm after a full ounce of the pure Chanel No. 5 perfume.

(b) To be in pursuit of (a person), esp. with hostile intent; to be trying to get into the company of (a person).In quot. 1856: to attend to, keep watch upon (a person). Cf. to look after —— 4a at look v. Phrasal verbs 2, to see after —— 1 at see v. Phrasal verbs 2.

ΚΠ

1796 G. Walker Theodore Cyphon (ed. 2) III. ii. 36 I'm after a d—d cunning fellow, who, I believe, is not always above ground.

1856 C. M. Yonge Daisy Chain i. vii. 67 You are a little bit of a sloven, and..some one must be always after you.

1885 ‘P. Cushing’ Woman with Secret III. iii. xi. 226 I'm after a Mr. Montaigne as lives thereabouts. Maybe you could direct me to his place?

1955 J. P. Donleavy Ginger Man xv. 158 A Mr. Skully, a former landlord, is after me for money.

2006 L. Soderlind Chasing Montana 74 Maybe I was after every woman I ever saw.

(c) To urge (a person) repeatedly to do something; to nag or harass (a person) about something.

ΚΠ

1859 W. B. Fowle Free Speaker 295 Mother and the parson are after me to go to the Sunday-school, but I won't go.

1866 W. M. Baker Inside iv. 29/2 Not a day, not an hour of the day, but his old companions were after him to enlist.

1915 O. M. Shackelforth Lillian Simmons xviii. 179 I have been after him about being so unconcerned about the future and I referred to you as an example.

1984 Times 11 Oct. 2/2 His suppliers will be after him to increase the price he pays for their parts.

2005 L. R. Burge Singing River Story xii. 141 Romy's been after me for years about my old Chevy here, but I know she's a good solid piece of American steelwork.

b. Chiefly Irish English. With gerund. [Reflecting a construction of the Irish perfective aspect, which is formed with the verb bí be v. (originally in any tense) and a preposition or prepositional phrase with the sense ‘after’ (originally iar, ar, air ‘after’ (Early Irish íar , ar : see ier-oe n.), since the 18th cent. usually tar éis, d'éis (and variants of these), or i ndiaidh), followed by a verbal noun. In Irish, this scope of this construction narrowed in the course of the 18th and 19th cent. and it is now chiefly used to refer to completed actions in the immediate past; in Scottish Gaelic, by contrast, the construction bi to be + air + verbal noun has come to function as the regular perfect tense (compare also the regular modern Welsh perfect tense formed with bod to be + wedi ‘after’ + verbal noun).

The earliest uses of this construction in Irish English refer to future events. In e.g. quot. 1682 at Phrases 5b(b) this corresponds to standard English ‘will have been’ and is within the semantic and grammatical range of the Irish construction at the time; the later narrowing in sense of Phrases 5b(b) to the immediate past mirrors the same development within Irish. The early uses in Phrases 5b(a) probably developed from this (within English), although they are attested slightly earlier. They disappear in parallel with the narrowing of the perfective uses in Irish and Irish English, but are occasionally found later in the speech of stereotypes in works written outside Ireland. Compare discussion in R. Hickey Irish Eng. (2007) 197–208.

The construction is found in Irish English and in varieties of English in other parts of the world (especially North America), which were influenced by Irish English. It is also found in the English of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, where it reflects the equivalent construction in Scottish Gaelic.]

(a) To be in the act of, on the point of, desirous of (doing something).

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > future [preposition] > on the point of

on (also upon) the point of1608

to be afterc1670

c1670 Purgatorium Hibernicum (National Libr. Ireland MS 470) in A. Carpenter Verse Travesty in Restoration Ireland (2013) 97 Ffen beggars must be after chooseing.

1715 S. Centlivre Wife well Managed 3 An will you be after giving me the Moidore indeed, and by my Shoul now?

1792 H. H. Brackenridge Mod. Chivalry I. iv. iii. 99 The Irishman..utterly refused to be after fighting in any such manner.

1827 J. Barrington Personal Sketches Own Times I. 208 Then it's fitter..for you to be after putting your sign there in your pocket.

a1897 F. B. Lloyd Sketches Country Life (1898) xxi. 138 He was after savin lost souls and was willin to let other men save the country.

1916 J. B. Cooper Coo-oo-ee viii. 93 ‘Gorrah!’ exclaimed Mrs. O'Callaghan. ‘Is he after makin' me drunk?’

(b) To have completed the action of, to have just finished (doing something).In early use frequently with reference to future events (cf. quot. 1682); in later use chiefly retrospective.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > carrying out > execute, perform, or carry out [verb (intransitive)] > have just executed or performed something

to be after1682

the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > newness or novelty > recency > [preposition] > after or just (done something)

to be after1682

1682 T. Shadwell Lancashire-witches v. 63 When I do go home, I vill be after being absolv'd for it.

1725 Proc. Old Bailey 7 Apr. 7/2 I wash after asking her which Way she wash walking.

1796 Proc. Old Bailey 14 Sept. 781/2 He was after coming from the country.

1828 T. C. Croker Fairy Legends & Trad. S. Ireland II. 74 It is not every lady..that would be after making [sc. would have made] such an offer.

1847 A. Trollope Macdermots II. i. 17 Thank ye, Mr. Kelly, but I am afther taking a little jist now.

1895 J. Barlow Strangers at Lisconnel viii. 169 They were after hangin' a lad up at the jail.

1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. xii. [Cyclops] 288 Sure I'm after seeing him not five minutes ago.

?1930 L. MacInnes Dial. S. Kintyre 16 Dae ye ken whut he's jist efter tellin' me.

1938 P. Kavanagh Green Fool xxv. 260 If it wasn't the turnips it was the pigs were after breaking loose, or a hen they wanted me help catch for the fowl dealer.

1958 B. Behan Borstal Boy i. 125 Well, I was after living through the winter and on the ninth I would be seventeen.

1985 M. Munro Patter 6 Ah'm just after being tae the doctor's.

1997 C. McPherson Weir 40 Sure, you were after getting a terrible shock.

P6. after me (also us) the deluge: = après moi le déluge phr. [After French après moi le déluge après moi le déluge phr.]

ΚΠ

1755 J. Mills tr. J. B. L. Crevier Hist. Rom. Emperors II. vi. 415 He [sc. Tiberius] had frequently in his mouth a Greek verse, whose sense answers to the expression now in use, to shew an indifference to the human species, After me the deluge [Fr. Après moi le déluge].

1851 Times 10 Apr. 5/5 ‘After me the deluge,’ said Prince Metternich—a fine saying, but a false prophecy we trust.

1875 E. S. Carr Patrons of Husb. on Pacific Coast iii. 25 Wherever the selfish pursuit of profit, the vile principle ‘After us the Deluge’, has been the ruling motive, the deluge has followed.

1922 R. Hichens December Love i. 53 That noticeable and almost reckless egoism which is summed up by the laconic saying, ‘after me the deluge’.

1979 J. Crosby Party of Year xxv. 162 We are the last survivors..expiring in a shower of expensive sparks. After us, the Deluge.

2008 A. Martin tr. R. F. Monzote From Rainforest to Cane Field in Cuba 272 [He] lamented that the attitude of producers was one of ‘after me the deluge’.

P7.

after-the-event adj. occurring or performed after a particular event, frequently with the implication of being too late; characterized by retrospectivity.

ΚΠ

1872 T. Wright Grainger's Thorn I. i. vii. 188 There was not wanting a number of the after-the-event school of prophets, who..had ‘known what it would all come to’, and had ‘told you so’.

1922 ‘R. Crompton’ More William (1924) iv. 69 ‘We di'n't ought to have set off before dinner,’ said the squire with after-the-event wisdom.

2007 R. E. S. Tanner Violence & Relig. iii. 52 Religion becomes for Christians no more than the subject for after-the-event evaluations.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2011; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	after
释义	aftern.² Brit. /ˈɑːftə/, /ˈaftə/, U.S. /ˈæftər/, Australian English /ˈʌːftə/, New Zealand English /ˈʌːftə/ Forms: 1900s– after, 1900s– after'. Origin: Formed within English, by clipping or shortening. Etymon: afternoon n. Etymology: Shortened < afternoon n.U.S. regional use in the 1890s in the form atter (compare atter prep., conj., and adv.) is recorded in H. Wentworth Amer. Dial. Dict. (1944) at after. colloquial (chiefly North American, Australian, and New Zealand). = afternoon n. 1. Chiefly in this after. ΘΚΠ the world > time > day and night > day or daytime > afternoon > [noun] evenOE overnoonOE midovernoona1325 afternoonc1330 mid-afternoona1400 undern1470 after-dinner1576 postmeridian1583 evening1587 post meridiem1647 none1656 noon1667 postnoon1686 aft1772 p.m.1776 after1906 pip emma1912 arvo1933 pee em1933 afty1966 1906 E. Dyson Fact'ry 'Ands viii. 104 Iv yeh don't do yer fair share iv yacker this after, I'll punt ther slacks off yer. 1934 J. O'Hara Appointment in Samarra (1935) ii. 50 Tonight, or this after', when Ed showed up at the Apollo, he probably would be in a bad humour. 1939 J. Mulgan Man Alone xviii. 235 Boss wants us to get the hay in up top this after. 1997 R. Gibbs Angels Watch do Keep iii. 49 Pompman's somewhere digging worms so we can go fishing this after. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2011; most recently modified version published online December 2021). afteradj.n.¹ Brit. /ˈɑːftə/, /ˈaftə/, U.S. /ˈæftər/ Forms: early Old English efterra (Mercian), Old English æfterra, Old English æftresta (superlative), Old English æftyra (rare), Old English aftera (rare), Old English eftra (rare), Old English (rare)–early Middle English æfter, Old English–early Middle English æftera, Old English–early Middle English æftra, late Old English eaftra, late Old English efternan (weak declension, accusative plural, perhaps transmission error), early Middle English æftrere, early Middle English æftsan (weak declension, dative, transmission error), early Middle English aftere, early Middle English efter, Middle English– after. Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with or formed similarly to Old Frisian eftera , eftra (superlative efterst , eftrost ) situated behind, following, Middle Dutch achterst (superlative) last, furthest back, Middle Low German achter , achtere (superlative achterste ) situated behind, Old High German aftero , aftro , also aftrōro (superlative aftrōsto ) situated behind, following, later, second (Middle High German after ), Old Icelandic aptari (superlative aptastr ) situated behind, later, last, and also (apparently with different suffix causing i-mutation) Old Icelandic eptri (superlative eptstr , epztr ) situated behind, later, last (Icelandic eftri (superlative efstur )), showing a comparative formation < the same Germanic base as after adv.In Old English usually inflected as a weak adjective (æfterra , æftera ), but very occasionally strong forms occur (e.g. masculine and neuter dative singular æfterum ). The geminate -rr- in æfterra , which arises from the fusion of stem-final consonant -r with the comparative ending -ra (see -er suffix³), is simplified after the reduction of secondary stress on the medial syllable (æftera ), and sometimes syncope of the medial syllable ensues (æftra ). For the stem vowel of Old English efterra , eftera , Middle English efter , compare discussion at after adv., prep., and conj. As commonly in Old English with the class of (originally) comparative adjectives derived from adverbs (see A. Campbell Old Eng. Gram. (1959) §675), the superlative is usually formed with -mest (see -most suffix); hence the more common æftemest (see aftermost adj.) in contrast to æfterest (one attestation). In Middle English after the loss of adjectival inflections, attributive uses of the inherited adjective would have become indistinguishable from new attributive uses of the adverb. Attributive uses in fixed collocations or in frequent patterns of use are documented at after- prefix or in separate main entries, although there is no absolute criterion distinguishing attributive uses at this entry from those at after- prefix. The frequency of nautical use in sense A. 4 in later use is probably due to the word being apprehended as a comparative form corresponding to aft adv. A. adj. I. Senses relating to time. †1. Designating the second of two or more people, things, occasions, etc., occurring in chronological sequence. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > two > fact of being second > [adjective] othereOE afterOE second1297 tothera1400 secondarya1425 two1586 OE tr. Orosius Hist. (Tiber.) (1980) i. v. 24 He [sc. Joseph] gegaderode on þan ærran syfan gearan mid hys wisdome, þæt he þa æfteran syfan gear eall þæt folc gescylde wið þone miclan hungor. lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) anno 1048 Se cyng..bead heom cuman to Gleaweceastre neh þære æftre Sancta Maria mæssan. lOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Bodl.) (2009) I. xix. 283 Hwæt forstent eow þonne se gilp, huru þam þe se æfterra deað [L. secunda mors] gegripð? c1175 ( Homily: Hist. Holy Rood-tree (Bodl. 343) (1894) 2 Þa becom he [sc. Moses] to þare stowe þe inemnæd is quinquaginta finicas, & þer twa niht hine reste... Ða on þare æfteræ nihte ne durstlæhte he hine þær to ræstene. a1225 ( Ælfric's Homily In Die Sancto Pentecosten (Lamb. 487) in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 95 He demað stiðne dom..on his efter to-come [OE Royal æt þam æftran tocyme], þet is on domes deie. †2. Designating a person, thing, occasion, etc., coming in immediate succession to another in time; that occurs next, succeeding, following. Obsolete (poetic and archaic in later use). ΘΚΠ the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > succession or following in time > [adjective] > succeeding or subsequent followingOE afterOE nextOE suinga1325 suant1422 succedentc1450 after-comingc1454 secondary1471 subsequent1472 succeeding1561 supervenient1565 subsequent1568 consequent1581 proceeding1592 ensuing1604 subsecutive1611 sequenta1616 insequentc1620 postliminious1625 sequel1632 postnate1638 supervening1640 descending1642 forward1643 postventional1645 yondersa1650 succrescent1653 pedissequous1657 subsequential1657 assequent1659 post-nated1659 posthume1662 posterious1672 survenient1677 succedent1688 postliminous1714 first1746 sequelled1805 postliminary1826 thereafter1830 descensive1882 akoluthic1889 OE West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) xiii. 33 Me gebyreþ todæg & tomorhgen, & þy æfteran dæge [c1200 Hatton þy æftere daige; L. sequenti] gan. OE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Tiber. B.iv) anno 1013 On þæm æfteran [lOE Laud æftran] geare þe se arcebisceop wæs gemartred, se cyning gesette Lyfinc bisceop..to þæm arcestole. 1801 R. Southey Thalaba II. x. 237 For thou shalt not go to-morrow, Nor on the after, nor the after day, Nor ever! 1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam ci. 156 I dream'd a vision of the dead, Which left my after morn content. View more context for this quotation 1865 W. M. Rossetti tr. Dante Comedy Pt. I: Hell xxxiii. 236 I shed no tear, however, nor replied The whole of that day, nor the after night [It. la notte appresso]. 3. Designating something that occurs later or subsequently; subsequent. Now rare. ΚΠ OE Prognostics (Tiber.) (2007) 411 Puella signum, ut puer; casta, laboriosa, seruatrix; in posteriori ętate melior : mæd[en] tacn oððe cild clæne geswincful gehealdend on eftran ylde betere. c1175 ( Ælfric's Homily on Nativity of Christ (Bodl. 343) in A. O. Belfour 12th Cent. Homilies in MS Bodl. 343 (1909) 82 Oðre isceaftæ..habbæþ anȝin & nænne ende; & beoþ æce on þam æftran [OE Otho C.i æftram] dæle. 1545 W. Turner Rescuynge of Romishe Fox sig. Evii^v The after partnership dispossesseth not the fierst hole awner of hys former possession. 1585 A. Bourcher in R. Edwards Paradyse Daintie Devises (new ed.) sig. L4 For present woe, my after blisse, will make me not forget thee. 1641 Rastell's Termes de la Ley (new ed.) f. 138 Any other after Tenant of the land. 1710 H. Prideaux Orig. & Right Tithes v. 268 The after Lawyers whose hands it passed thorough. 1758 S. Hayward Seventeen Serm. 17 All his after sins were charged on himself alone. 1831 T. P. Thompson in Westm. Rev. Apr. 443 The sabrers, that produced an after compliance with their mandates. 1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam cxv. 181 For fuller gain of after bliss. 1883 Harper's New Monthly Mag. May 947/2 Its [sc. painting's] creative character is an after and a higher development. 1930 A. Christie Murder at Vicarage iii. 25 I append a rough sketch here which will be useful in the light of after happenings. II. Senses relating to place or position. 4. Situated at the back or in the rear; (Nautical) of or belonging to the rear part of a ship, nearer to the stern (cf. sense B. 2). ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > position at the back > [adjective] afterOE afterwardOE hinderc1290 hinderera1340 hinda1400 backc1490 reara1500 posterior1578 rearward1581 backwarda1616 hindsome1634 postica1638 averse1646 postern1648 postical1657 reverse1675 aft1711 retrospective1785 hindward1797 retral1822 western1829 postjacent1878 OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 74 Hoc occiput se æftra dæl ðæs heafdes. OE Brussels Gloss. in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 288 Puppis, se æftera stemn. 1652 Perfect Diurnall No. 148. 2207 All they did was to play at us with their after chase guns, there being some thousands of shot exchanged between us. 1766 G. Cockings Conquest Canada iii. ii. 33 Pipes abaft, or at the after hatchway. 1842 F. Marryat Percival Keene xl. 345 I..contrived to gain the after ladder and descend. 1869 ‘M. Twain’ Innocents Abroad viii. 78 Up on the after corner of the skull. 1907 Sea Breeze July 70/2 The after, and most valuable, two thirds of the ship floated free. 1999 New Yorker 27 Dec. 81/3 Michael took the after paddle, steering, digging deep into the slow, black stream. B. n.¹ 1. †a. That which follows the first; the second. Also: the latter. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > [noun] > the latter or thing that is mentioned second aftereOE latter?c1225 this subsequenta1573 eOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Parker) anno 827 Ecgbryht..wæs se eahteþa cyning se þe bretwalda wæs—ærest Ęlle Suþseaxna cyning se þus micel rice hæfde, se æftera wæs Ceawlin Wesseaxna cyning, [etc.]. eOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Otho) (2009) I. viii. 418 Her endað sio f[or]me boc Boetius & onginneð [s]io [æftere]. OE King Ælfred tr. Psalms (Paris) (2001) xxxix. Introd. And swa ylce gebyreð ælcum Cristnum men þas twegen sealmas to singanne: þone ærran, on his earfoðum and þone æftran syþþan he genered byð. b. That which follows; subsequent time or existence; the future. Frequently in opposition to before. ΘΚΠ the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > succession or following in time > [noun] > later or subsequent period after age1560 afterday1591 morrowc1595 after-year1625 back1673 afterward1677 after-hour1726 after1830 1830 Ld. Tennyson Poems 98 He hath felt The vanities of after and before. 1865 Reader 10 June 644/3 A range of view which takes in all the before and after of Greek thought. 1903 W. S. Blunt Seven Golden Odes 39 Who knows to-morrow, who the after of days, the years we see not? 1937 P. J. McCann St. Benedict 10 We can place his life and work in the sequence of a continuous development, and estimate it with reference to a before and an after. 2007 C. Poling Desert Remains 225 After this, Daniel? What if there is no ‘after’? What if this goes on forever and ever? †2. The rear or hinder part of a person or thing, spec. the stern of a ship. Obsolete.In Old English in plural. ΚΠ eOE (Mercian) Vespasian Psalter (1965) lxvii. 13 (14) Pinnae columbae deargentatę et posteriora dorsi eius in specie auri : fiðru culfran besifrede & efterran beces his in hiowe goldes. lOE Canterbury Psalter lxxvii. 66 Et percussit inimicos suos in posteriora : he ofsloh fiond his on efternan [eOE Vespasian Psalter ða efterran] vel yteræn. a1425 Medulla Gram. (Stonyhurst) f. 5^v Aplaustrum, after of a ship. 1650 N. Ward Discolliminium 49 He would..turne so nimbly that he could not see which was his 'fore, which his after. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2011; most recently modified version published online June 2022). afteradv.prep.conj. Brit. /ˈɑːftə/, /ˈaftə/, U.S. /ˈæftər/ Forms: α. early Old English aæfter, early Old English aeftaer, Old English aefter (rare), Old English æfterr (Northumbrian), Old English æftor (rare), Old English æftyr (rare), Old English æter (transmission error), Old English aftær (in a late copy), Old English (rare)–early Middle English æftær, Old English (rare)–early Middle English æfte, Old English–early Middle English æfter, Old English–early Middle English ęfter, Old English (rare)– after, late Old English æfer (perhaps transmission error), late Old English–early Middle English eafter, late Old English–early Middle English hæfter, early Middle English ææfter, early Middle English affterr ( Ormulum), early Middle English aster (transmission error), Middle English affeter, Middle English afftere, Middle English afftir, Middle English afftr, Middle English afftre, Middle English afftter, Middle English affttyr, Middle English afftur, Middle English afftyr, Middle English afitir (transmission error), Middle English afteir, Middle English afþer, Middle English afthere, Middle English aftire, Middle English aftiree, Middle English aftour, Middle English aftr, Middle English aftter, Middle English afþur, Middle English afture, Middle English aftyre, Middle English aufter, Middle English auftir, Middle English haffter, Middle English hafter, Middle English haftyr, Middle English haufeter, Middle English ofter, Middle English (1800s– Irish English) afther, Middle English–1500s aftere, Middle English–1500s aftir, Middle English–1500s aftre, Middle English–1500s aftur, Middle English–1500s aftyr, Middle English–1600s aftar, Middle English–1700s affter, 1800s– afthar (Irish English and Manx English), 1900s– af'er (U.S. regional (in African-American usage)); Scottish pre-1700 afftir, pre-1700 aftir, pre-1700 aftyr, pre-1700 1700s affter, pre-1700 1700s– after, 1800s– aifter. β. Chiefly early and northern early Old English ester (Northumbrian and Mercian, transmission error), early Old English yftær (Kentish), early Old English yfter (Kentish), Old English–early Middle English efer (perhaps transmission error), Old English–Middle English efter, Old English (rare)–Middle English hefter, late Old English eftær, early Middle English effer (transmission error), early Middle English hester (transmission error), Middle English effter, Middle English efftere, Middle English efftir, Middle English efftyr, Middle English eftere, Middle English eftir, Middle English eftire, Middle English eftre, Middle English eftter, Middle English eftur, Middle English eftyr, Middle English eftyre, Middle English hefteir; English regional (northern and Lincolnshire) 1800s– efter, 1800s– efther, 1800s– eftther; Scottish pre-1700 effter, pre-1700 efftere, pre-1700 efftir, pre-1700 efftyr, pre-1700 efftyre, pre-1700 eftere, pre-1700 eftire, pre-1700 eftre, pre-1700 eftyr, pre-1700 eftyre, pre-1700 1700s– efter, pre-1700 1700s– eftir; also Irish English 1900s– efter, 1900s– efther. See also arter adv., prep., and conj. Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with (all as both adverb and preposition) Old Frisian efter (adverb and preposition) after (in time), to, as a result of, through, in accordance with, behind (West Frisian efter , ( < Dutch) achter ), Old Dutch after , aftir (adverb and preposition) behind, according to (Middle Dutch after , achter , also in sense ‘after (in time)’; Dutch achter ), Old Saxon aftar (adverb and preposition) after (in time), behind, through, as a result of (Middle Low German achter ( > Norwegian akter , Swedish akter , Danish agter , all as adverb in specific sense ‘astern’), Old High German after (adverb and preposition) after (in time), in accordance with, behind (Middle High German after , ahter ), also (with various variations in the suffix, although the precise nature of this is disputed) Old Icelandic aptr (Icelandic aftur ), Old Swedish apter , after , atter (Swedish åter ), Old Danish atær (Danish atter ), all as adverb in sense ‘back, back again, backwards, again’, Early Runic after (preposition) after, Gothic aftaro (adverb) behind, from behind, aftra (adverb) again, backwards, and also (apparently with different form of suffix causing i-mutation) Old Icelandic eptir , eftir (Icelandic eftir ) (preposition) after (in time or place), Old Swedish æpti , æptir , æfti , æftir , ætti , ættir (Swedish efter ), Old Danish æftir (Danish efter ), all as preposition, adverb, and (in Swedish and Danish) conjunction in sense ‘after (in time or place)’; ultimately showing a formation with an Indo-European comparative suffix also represented by Sanskrit -tara , ancient Greek -τερος , classical Latin -ter (see discussion at other adj., pron., n., and adv.²); the base is probably that of of prep. (as shown likewise by the comparative formations ancient Greek ἀπωτέρω , Sanskrit apataram , both in sense ‘further off’; compare also Sanskrit aparam afterwards), although it could alternatively be the same base as shown by ancient Greek ἐπί (see epi- prefix). Compare after adj., aftermost adj., and also after- prefix. Compare also aft adv.The early β. forms show the regular development of Old English æ to e in Kentish and Mercian and their early Middle English reflexes. Northern Middle English β. forms probably show influence from early Scandinavian (compare Old Icelandic eftir ). Influence from eft adv. has also been suggested. In Old English, the preposition is construed either with the dative or (rarely and chiefly in Northumbrian) with the accusative. The use as temporal conjunction (see sense C. 1), which in Old English is found only in prose, is perhaps originally after classical Latin postquam subsequent to the time when. In Old English (and occasionally also later), the word can be used as preposition in postmodifying position; in Old English, this use is typically found after personal pronouns (compare also hereafter adv., thereafter adv.). In Old English and early Middle English, this use can be difficult to distinguish from use as a verbal prefix or separable verbal particle (see after- prefix and compare discussion at out- prefix; see further B. Mitchell Old Eng. Syntax (1985) §§ 1060–80). Compare the following:eOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Parker) anno 878 He..hiene gefliemde, & him æfter rad oþ þæt geweorc.eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) i. x. 29 Hie..sona þone cyning gefliemdon mid his folce, & him æfterfolgiende wæron.OE Wærferð tr. Gregory Dialogues (Corpus Cambr.) (1900) i. xii. 88 Gað ge beforon; ic eow cume æfter.c1225 (?c1200) St. Juliana (Royal) l. 235 Þu leddest israeles folc þurh þe reade sea..ant hare fan senchtest þet ham efter sohten [c1225 Bodl. ferden ham efter]. A. adv. 1. a. Behind something in place or position; in the rear; further back. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > position at the back > [adverb] baftc885 afterwardOE afterOE at-hind1016 abackOE behindc1220 backc1300 arrear1393 hinda1400 baftsc1400 dererec1410 abaft1495 ahind1768 retrally1825 a-rear1849 the world > movement > progressive motion > order of movement > following behind > [adverb] thereafterc897 afterOE behind1393 OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) xii. 112 Pharao..tengde æfter mid eallum his here and offerde hi æt ðære readan sæ. OE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Tiber. B.iv) anno 1076 Rawulf..wæs fægen þæt he to scypum ætfleah, & his wif belaf æfter in þam castele. a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 41 (MED) Mihhal eode bi-foren and paul com efter. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 787 Þe king sette to fleonne, & al þa ferde eafter. c1330 Sir Orfeo (Auch.) (1966) 378 (MED) In þis castel þe leuedis aliȝt; He wold in after, ȝif he miȝt. c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) 1001 (MED) Þe Sarasynz..prykede away..& þay folȝyeaþ after. c1450 (c1440) S. Scrope tr. C. de Pisan Epist. of Othea (Longleat) (1904) 79 The harpor [sc. Orpheus]..toke hym hys wyff vpon a condicion that he shulde goo afore and sche after. a1500 (?a1450) Gesta Romanorum (Harl. 7333) (1879) 313 (MED) All þat sawe hire [sc. a hind] svyd aftir with houndis. 1541 Schole House of Women sig. B.iii The wyfe, wolde haue a tayle Come rakyng after. 1611 Bible (King James) Luke xxiii. 55 And the women also..followed after, and beheld the Sepulchre. View more context for this quotation 1645 True Relation of Whale 4 There was..such a Fray of Sea-monsters (the old ones following after) as the like was never seene. 1724 T. Lewis Origines Hebrææ I. iii. vii. 310 The Tabernacle was to follow, between those two that went before, and the Camp of Ephraim and the Camp of Dan that came after. 1785 Mother Goose's Melody 37 Jack fell down And broke his Crown, And Gill came tumbling after. 1844 W. M. Thackeray Barry Lyndon ii. ii, in Fraser's Mag Nov. 591/2 She ran screaming through the galleries, and I, as tipsy as a lord, came staggering after. 1879 J. Hawthorne Archibald Malmaison vi. 70 Poor Archie toddled after. 1931 J. Mockford Khama xxxi. 222 The women-folk follow after, balancing bed-mats and food-baskets on their heads. 2008 R. Raisin God's Own Country x. 77 Yer father'll bray you if he hears on it. He will, I said, and walked out, Sal towing after. b. In a position of lower rank or importance; as a lower priority; secondarily. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > two > fact of being second > [adverb] > in order of importance afterc1400 secondarily?1523 secondly1526 c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. x. l. 358 (MED) Loue þi lorde god leuest aboue alle, And after, alle crystene creatures. a1450 (c1400) in D. M. Grisdale 3 Middle Eng. Serm. (1939) 73 (MED) Mannes resun..schuld evin be preferrid be-for sensualite & ner cum after. 1867 R. Edwards & J. R. Webb Analyt. 3rd Reader lxi. 187 (heading) Business first and pleasure after. 1916 E. A. Boyd Ireland's Literary Renaissance iv. 80 The writers of The Nation were, as has been stated, patriots first and poets after. 2003 S. Tharoor Nehru iii. 47 With many close Muslim friends whom he saw as friends first and Muslims after (if at all), he could not..take religious divisions seriously. 2. a. Later in time; afterwards; subsequently.Formerly used before (as well as after) the verb, now chiefly at the end of a sentence or clause. ΘΚΠ the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > [adverb] > after, afterwards, or later sitheneOE aftereOE sithOE eftOE latterOE aftOE sithencea1170 sithrec1175 thereup?c1225 baftc1275 furtherc1290 eftsoon1297 therewithala1300 afterwardc1300 afterwardsc1300 soc1300 therewithc1369 eftersoonsa1400 suingly?a1425 at after1425 followingly?c1425 afterhand1438 syne1489 by posteriority1523 in sequel1524 still1526 later1527 subsequently1537 senthis?1553 lately1565 subsequent1568 behindc1600 sequelarly1600 posterior1628 in prosecutiona1641 subsequentiallya1683 artera1746 posteriorly1799 ulteriorly1818 later on1829 eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) i. ii. 36 Gereste him æfter & slape & þonne aþweah his eagan mid clæne wætre. OE Beowulf (2008) 12 Ðæm eafera wæs æfter cenned. lOE tr. R. d'Escures Sermo in Festis Sancte Marie Virginis in R. D.-N. Warner Early Eng. Homilies (1917) 138 Næfre ær ne æfter, nan oðer swa forðlice ne gesmæhte, hwu swote is ure Drihten. a1250 (?c1200) St. Katherine (Titus) (1981) l. 827 (MED) Þurh hwam we mahen haue sikere bileaue to arisen alle after. a1300 in R. Morris Old Eng. Misc. (1872) 139 (MED) Of þe mayde þu were ibore..Þo þu hire to come, heo mayde wes, And mayde heo wes after wemmeles. 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 12 (MED) Marie blefte eure, mayde an yhol be-uore and efter. c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 1201 And after was she maad the lode sterre. c1450 King Ponthus (Digby) in Publ. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer. (1897) 12 61 (MED) They hade carralles, daunces, and songys to mydnyght. And aftre, they dranke and ete spyces. And aftre, the straungers toke theyr leve. 1481 W. Caxton tr. Hist. Reynard Fox (1970) 62 Men may wel lye whan it is nede, and after amende it. a1500 (?a1390) J. Mirk Festial (Gough) (1905) 1 (MED) Holy chirche layþe downe songys of melody befor, yn tokenyng of vengans þat woll come aftyr. 1594 H. Plat Diuers Chimicall Concl. Distillation 40 in Jewell House A..substance, which you may after cleanse by ablution. a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) i. ii. 77 If you know, That I do fawne on then [sic]..And after scandall them. View more context for this quotation 1651 T. Gataker in T. Fuller Abel Redevivus 213 Our worthy Jewel, after Bishop of Salisbury. a1668 W. Davenant Wks. (1673) 277 He who made discovery Of the west-world, could not directly ply To make those Harbours which he after found. 1757 E. Burke Philos. Enq. Sublime & Beautiful iv. §1. 119 All we do after, is but a faint struggle. 1768 H. Walpole Hist. Doubts 5 The king smote the young prince on the face, and after his servants slew him. 1790 Edinb. Mag. Sept. 161/2 He after went home with Ayto Aylo. 1834 F. Marryat Peter Simple II. xvi. 273 ‘Will you have your glass of grog before or after?’ ‘Before, by all means.’ 1859 Ld. Tennyson Enid in Idylls of King 21 Enid took his charger to the stall; And after went her way across the bridge. 1891 F. R. Brainard in C. King By Land & Sea 115 On the instant of the striking, neither before nor after, he was on the bridge. 1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. 97 Must be careful about women. Catch them once with their pants down. Never forgive you after. 1970 K. Williams Diary 30 Aug. (1993) 382 After, I congratulated them all & bought them drinks. 2000 A. E. Wolf Secret of Parenting 126 ‘Carole Ann, please pick up your toys now. It's almost supper.’ ‘I'll do it after.’ b. With another temporal adverb or adverbial phrase, or with a specified period of time: later by the specified amount of time; (also) for the specified amount of time subsequent to an event. See also ever after at ever adv. 1b. ΚΠ eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) ii. ii. 39 Raðe æfter [OE Tiber. æfter ðan] Romulus hiora anginn geunclænsade mid his broðor slege. OE Wulfstan Pastoral Let. (Hatton) (1957) 226 His wylla is þæt we aa æfter ure agenre þearfe geornlice winnan. a1325 (c1280) Southern Passion (Pepys 2344) (1927) l. 1726 (MED) Some lyuede after longe [v.r. longe þerafter]. a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 1408 (MED) Confort..þei cauȝt sone after. a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Gal. ii. 1 And sith fourtene ȝeer aftir, eftsones Y wente vp to Jerusalem. c1450 Treat. Fysshynge wyth Angle (1883) 17 (MED) Yf he be a frayd, he wyl not byt a good while aftur. 1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid ix. v. 40 Brocht in schort quhile eftir syne. 1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. xxxiv. 638 Immediatly after, all things should be set in their perfect state ageine. 1625 J. Hart Anat. Urines ii. iv. 73 This flux continued..for some few dayes after. 1625 J. Hart Anat. Urines ii. vi. 87 She died about two months after. 1684 J. Bunyan Pilgrim's Progress 2nd Pt. 219 It came to pass, a while after, that there was a Post in the Town that enquired for Mr. Honest. View more context for this quotation 1711 J. Swift Jrnl. to Stella 13 Aug. (1948) I. 331 I felt my last riding three days after. 1753 J. Hanway Hist. Acct. Brit. Trade Caspian Sea III. xxii. 149 Soon after, the artillery..proclaimed the news to the people. 1800 S. Turner Acct. Embassy Court Teshoo Lama 81 A few days after, I had an application for a fresh supply of the former [sc. raspberry jam and claret]. 1854 Harper's Mag. Apr. 654/2 For a long time after, the stings of a wounded conscience reproached him. 1882 Ballou's Monthly Mag. Oct. 352/2 For a moment there seemed no hope of her escape. ‘It was rub and go’, said the prize-master, as he told the story years after. 1914 J. B. Rathbun Motion Picture Making iii. 68 The camera man starts cranking the machine and the actors stand alert... An instant after follows the order, ‘Start your action’. 1957 M. Hadfield Brit. Trees 396 The red horse-chestnut was first described in 1818 by the French botanist Loiscleur... It was apparently received and planted in Britain not long after. 2007 H. R. F. Keating Rules, Regs & Rotten Eggs (2008) xix. 209 It was then I heard the bell. No. No, wait. It was a bit after. c. Preceded by the and a unit of time (frequently with preceding ordinal number): on the (second, third, etc.) day, week, month, year, etc., that follows. ΚΠ a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 2517 (MED) Þei..rested..al þat longe day & al þe niȝt next after. a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) I. 444 All people sholde be at his castell the fifth day aftir. 1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 61 Because it was Sunday, nothing was done. So the day after, which was the second fery, the Archebishop was cited to apere. c1600 Wriothesley's Chron. Eng. (1875) I. 36 The morrowe after, being Satterdaie. 1611 Bible (King James) John i. 35 The next day after John stood, and two of his disciples. View more context for this quotation a1699 I. Abendana Disc. Eccl. & Civil Polity of Jews (1706) vi. 186 The Day after is that of Purim, which is a Feast. 1727 E. Calamy Contin. Acct. Ministers II. 34 It fell the Week after to one thousand and fifty, and the Week after to six hundred fifty-two. 1758 E. Spelman tr. Dionysius of Halicarnassus Rom. Antiq. II. v. 339 The day after, he appeared in a mourning habit. 1858 Harper's Mag. Aug. 406/1 The night after, the King's governor and the King's army found themselves closely beleagured [sic] in Boston. 1891 C. Creighton Hist. Epidemics Brit. x. 507 In the last week of March they [sc. plague deaths] were 11, and in the week after, 10. 1908 Amer. Mag. Nov. 48/1 To-morrow we make an important revelation..and we want to follow it up the morning after by a cartoon that will be a stunner. 1949 Life 19 Sept. 45/3 Next year it will be worse, still worse the year after. 2007 Gloucestershire Echo (Nexis) 8 Dec. 38 The day after I ached so much I felt like I'd been run over by a truck. 3. With regard to writing: subsequently in the text, further down, below. Cf. hereafter adv. 1, herein after adv. at herein adv. Compounds. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > [adverb] > below or hereafter (in a later part of a book, etc.) hereafterc900 aftereOE innermorea1387 under1389 underneath1389 hereunder1425 below1645 beneath1668 post1688 infra1740 overleaf1742 therein after1818 over1893 eOE Cleopatra Gloss. in W. G. Stryker Lat.-Old Eng. Gloss. in MS Cotton Cleopatra A.III (Ph.D. diss., Stanford Univ.) (1951) 238 Infra, æfter. OE Ælfric Let. to Sigeweard (De Veteri et Novo Test.) (Laud) 21 Ure Hælend Crist ure yfel gebette, swa swa þeos racu æfter [c1175 Bodl. hæræfter] us segð. 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 12 (MED) Þe þridde article, and the vifte þet uolȝeþ efter, belongeþ to þe zone. 1385 in D. Macpherson et al. Rotuli Scotiae (1819) II. 73/1 The forsayd lordes are acordit in specialte as efter folowes. c1460 in A. Clark Eng. Reg. Oseney Abbey (1907) 110 (MED) The charter of John ij of Seynt John, seke after. 1584 King James VI & I Ess. Prentise Poesie sig. Liiij The wordis, sentences, and phrasis necessair for a Poete to vse in his verse, quhilk I haue set doun in reulis, as efter followis. 1644 Articles Surrender City of Yorke sig. A2 The said Sir Thomas, as Governour of the said Citie, shall surrender and deliver up the same,..upon the condition after written. 1794 T. Maurice Indian Antiq. IV. 260 Immediately after follows a passage, in which the three Persons in the divine essence are expressly pointed out by appellations. 1829 H. Grant Pract. High Court Chancery (ed. 2) I. lv. 266 As is after stated, a general report must first be confirmed nisi, when objections have been carried in. 1908 A. Robinson Law Relating to Income Tax (ed. 2) 382 (margin) Annual value to be ascertained by this rule, except as after stated. 2008 J. Doles Miracles & Manifestations of Holy Spirit in Hist. Church viii. 176/1 Shortly after follows the account of what the Ancients felt. B. prep.In Old English with dative or (rarely) accusative. I. Senses relating to place or position. 1. a. In collocation with verbs of motion. To the rear of, behind (a person or thing); following.In quot. 1594 with verb implied. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > progressive motion > order of movement > following behind > behind (where there is movement) [preposition] afterOE OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) xii. 113 Eft swa hraðe swa þæt wolcn styrode, swa siðode samtinges eal seo fyrd æfter ðam wolcne. OE West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) ix. 23 Gyf hwa wyle æfter me cuman, ætsace hine sylfne & nime his cwylminge & me folgige. lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1128 Þa for mid him & æfter him swa micel folc swa næfre ær ne dide. a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 5 (MED) Al þe hebreisce folc þe eode efter him and biuoren him. c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 8207 (MED) Roberd erl of flaundres after þulke ost com. c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Luke xiv. 27 He that berith not his cross, and cometh aftir [L. venit post] me, may not be my disciple. c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) i. l. 1312 (MED) Iason is come..And after him foloweth al þe pres. c1460 (?c1400) Tale of Beryn l. 1589 Our four Shippis, [þ^t] aftir vs doith dryve. 1526 Bible (Tyndale) Luke xiv. f. cj Come after me. 1594 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 v. v. 32 Shall we after them? After them, nay before them if we can. 1625 G. Markham Souldiers Accidence 61 Tucquet, or March..Commands nothing but Marching after the Leader. 1653 T. Urquhart tr. F. Rabelais 1st Bk. Wks. xxxiv. 155 The rest of his traine came after him. 1707 London Gaz. mmmmcccxxxiii/7 After whom rode on Horse-back a Courier of the Republick. 1756 D. Hume Let. 20 Apr. (1932) I. 232 Alas! you are going down hill, and I am tumbling fast after you. 1816 J. Wilson City of Plague i. ii. 271 That merciless ghost that walks the sea After our ship for ever. c1840 J. S. Knowles Virgin i. i The people will throng after him with shouts. 1916 J. Joyce Portrait of Artist i. 14 The bell rang for night prayers and he filed out of the study hall after the others. 1999 C. Nolan Banyan Tree (2000) xv. 49 The men moved off, he traipsing after them. b. Of the position of something at rest (chiefly in relation to a person or thing in motion): behind, to the rear of; following. Now frequently Irish English. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > position at the back > at the back of or behind [preposition] afterOE in (also on) the rearward of1591 in (also at, within) (the) rear of1604 on, upon the back (of)1614 back of1694 rearward1778 behind1882 in back ofa1910 OE tr. Felix St. Guthlac (Vesp.) (1909) xi. 144 He þa se eadiga wer Guthlac acsode hi, hwæðer hi ænig þinc æfter heom on þam scipe forleton. lOE Homily: Evangelium de Virginibus (Corpus Cambr. 303) in H. L. C. Tristram Vier Altenglische Predigten aus der Heterodoxen Trad. (Ph.D. diss., Freiburg) (1970) 440 Se brydgume..genam þa fif snotere mædena mid him in to his brydbure and beleac þa duru æfter heom. c1300 St. Edmund Rich (Laud) l. 428 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 443 (MED) Make faste þe dore aftur þe and ne lat þou no man in gon. c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) 2776 (MED) Spedilich in þey wente & After hymen made þe gate faste. a1450 York Plays (1885) 394 (MED) Leffe noght my saule, lorde, aftir þe, In depe helle. c1475 (?c1400) Apol. Lollard Doctr. (1842) 57 Go o bak after me, Sathanas. 1484 W. Caxton tr. G. de la Tour-Landry Bk. Knight of Tower (1971) Prol. 12 Suche ther be that lawgheth to fore yow, whiche after youre back goo mockyng. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Judges iii. 23 Ehud..put to y^e dore after him, and lockte it. 1570 J. Foxe Actes & Monumentes (rev. ed.) II. 1357/1 I was the page to a footeman, carying after him his pyke and burganet. a1727 I. Newton Opticks (1730) i. i. 31 Sometimes I placed a third Prism after the second, and sometimes also a fourth after the third. 1764 H. Walpole Castle of Otranto i. 29 Shut the trap-door after you. 1849 Rural Repository 4 Aug. 178/3 Be particular to hasp the gate after you when you go out. 1885 Cent. Mag. July 373/1 Lapham followed him to close the street-door after him. 1938 Times 6 Jan. 9/4 She went out and closed the door after her, and called the police. 2001 J. McGowan Echoes Savage Land (2006) ix. 305 He was taking the horse out of the cart..when he realised that he left the cart-cover after him. c. colloquial. With verbs of cleaning or making orderly: consequent upon the actions of (a person or animal).Now chiefly following phrasal verbs with up, as to clean up, to tidy up, etc.See also to pick up 11 at pick v.¹ Phrasal verbs 1. ΚΠ 1741 H. Fielding in Daily Gazetteer 30 Mar. 1/1 Both of us had need of a hundred Hands, and nothing else to do but to..run and go, and tend and clean after him. 1782 F. Burney Cecilia V. ix. vi. 125 One's dirt enough of one's own, without taking people out of the streets to help one. Who do you think's to clean after you? 1852 Daily News 19 Jan. 6/3 She refused to clean up after the cats. 1863 Mrs. H. Wood Verner's Pride III. xxxvii. 252 Messing the floor and places with your powder and stuff! It would take two servants to clear up after you. 1895 Home Notes 7 Dec. 299/1 The mother who instils this in her little ones certainly spares herself the constant fatigue..of perpetually tidying after her nearly grown-up daughters. 1953 A. Baron Human Kind xxiv. 178 This battalion came all the way from Africa, two thousand miles of bloody misery.., and what for? To clean their crap up after them! 1990 P. Cornwell Postmortem i. 8 Maybe he wiped up after himself to make sure he didn't leave footprints on the john or floor. 2008 Wicklow (Ireland) People (Nexis) 24 Sept. Free pooper scoopers have been provided..but many dog owners continue to ignore pleas to tidy up after their pet. 2. a. Following the course of (anything extended in space); along (a linear dimension); across or away over (an extended surface). In early use also: †through or throughout (a place) (obsolete). English regional (chiefly south-western) in later use. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the world > space > direction > specific directions > [preposition] > along longitudinal dimension of aftereOE alongeOE alongstOE afterlongc1390 longs1488 longways1561 longst1591 eOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Parker) anno 878 He lytle werede unieþelice æfter wudum for & on morfæstenum. OE Andreas (1932) 581 Sealde he dumbum gesprec, deafe gehyrdon,..æfter burhstedum blinde gesegon. OE Beowulf (2008) 1425 Gesawon ða æfter wætere wyrmcynnes fela, sellice sædracan sund cunnian. lOE Royal Charter: Eadred to Ælfsige Hunlafing (Sawyer 566) in A. J. Robertson Anglo-Saxon Charters (1956) 56 On Earninga stræte æt þam stapelan, & þonne norþ æfter strate to þere dic, On Ceastertuninga gemærie. a1225 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Egerton) 231 in J. Zupitza & J. Schipper Alt- u. Mitteleng. Übungsbuch (1904) 87 (MED) Þer is wanunge end wop efter eche strete. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 6874 Swa quiddeden..al þat verden æfter wæi [c1300 Otho bi þan wai]. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 11547 [Bruttes] fluȝen after þere sæ. a1400 Siege Jerusalem (Laud) (1932) l. 482 Þis faiþles folke to þe feld comen, & batayled after þe bent. ?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 157^v (MED) Þai ar a maner blacke wormes..wiþ citrine and ȝelow lynez after þaire backe. c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 12557 After a syde of the sea..Was a-party a prouynse, plight full of hilles. 1865 J. Earle in Two Saxon Chron. 305 In Somersetshire they still say, going along ‘after the wall’, ‘after the stream’ to signify following the line of. 1890 J. D. Robertson Gloss. Words County of Gloucester 2 Go athirt that ere ground, and you'll find the path after the hedge. †b. Along the surface of, close to. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > surface > along the surface of [preposition] overeOE alongeOE afterOE OE Old Eng. Martyrol. (Julius) 22 Sept. 215 Ða het [se casere] hy gemartyrian þæt heora þæt halige blod orn æfter eorðan swa swa flod. ?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry sig. C.iiii Hey cometh of a grasse called crofote and groweth flat after the erth. 3. a. In pursuit of, following with the intent to catch (a person or thing in motion); in the direction of. Also with elision of verb of motion. ΚΠ OE Old Eng. Hexateuch: Gen. (Claud.) xxxi. 36 For hwylcum gylte ferdest ðu þus æfter me [L. exarsisti post me] & towurpe eall min innorf? c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 100 Vre wiðeriwines..up o þe hulles ha clumben efter us. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 11154 Gillomar þe king flah & awæwardes teh and Arður him after, and þene king ikahte. a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1965) Judith ix. 6 After þi seruauntys þei runnyn armed trostinge in þer foure horsid cartis. a1438 Bk. Margery Kempe (1940) i. 50 (MED) I haue ronnyn a-wey fro þe, & þow hast ronnyn aftyr me. 1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) v. 511 Eftir [1489 Adv. efter] hym in hy he sent. a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. viii. 83 (MED) Pharao..will shape vs to sheynd, And after vs send his garray. 1576 G. Pettie Petite Pallace vii. 134 She..leapt into the sea to swim after him as hee sayled away. 1611 Bible (King James) 1 Sam. xxiv. 14 After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? After a dead dogge, after a flea. View more context for this quotation 1627 R. Sanderson Ten Serm. 177 He must after them, and smite them, and plucke the spoyle out of their teeth. 1663 Brief Acc. Turks Late Exped. 21 There followed into the Town a great Body of Tartars after these scouting Troupers. 1708 London Gaz. mmmmccccxix/5 They stand from us, and we after them with all the Sail we can. 1764 A. Stephen Let. 16 Apr. in H. Bouquet Papers (1942) Ser. 21650 1st Pt. 104 Several Parties of Indians are down in Hampshire, but I have a Number of Chosen Rifflemen on the hunt after them. 1804 J. Farington Diary 8 July (1923) II. lxxi. 265 He fancied that she sent persons after Him to drug his victuals. 1861 G. H. Kingsley in F. Galton Vacation Tourists & Trav. 1860 iv. 128 He only succeeded in gaining the descent of the hill..before another, a male or dog wolf, was noticed in full chase after him. 1869 ‘M. Twain’ Innocents Abroad v. 51 If we were ever to get after it [sc. a little fort] with one of our turreted monitors they would have to move it out in the country. 1947 Sporting Mirror 7 Nov. 9/1 Tunstall, United forward, raced after a long pass from his right half. 1988 A. Tyler Breathing Lessons i. i. 26 Ira would get after her for refolding it wrong. 2004 G. W. Warner Clue in Corn Maze x. 115 The person dashed into the maze. ‘Quick! After him!’ Henry cried. b. In search of, in order to find or get (a person or thing at rest). Frequently with come, go, and send. ΚΠ OE Old Eng. Hexateuch: Deut. (Claud.) vi. 14 Ne far ðu æfter fremdum godum [L. non ibitis post deos alienos]. OE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Tiber. B.iv) anno 1061 Her for Ealdred biscop to Rome æfter his pallium. lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1123 He com æfter þe Romescot. ?a1160 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1132 Þe king sende efter him. a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 7 (MED) God almihti sende his apostles..efter þe assa fole. c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 137 (MED) He sende writes..After his erles euere-ich on. c1330 Seven Sages (Auch.) (1933) l. 1892 (MED) He send his sond After alle þe wise men of his lond, And tolde hem alle his greuaunce. c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 136 Ful semely after hir mete she raghte. c1410 (c1350) Gamelyn (Harl. 7334) 614 (MED) The scherreue..sent after a leche. a1500 (?a1400) Sir Torrent of Portyngale (1887) l. 499 (MED) Hys squyeres bode he there, Aftyr hys armor for to far. ?1515 Hyckescorner (de Worde) sig. C.iv Huffe huffe huffe who sent after me I am Imagynacyon full of Iolyte. 1611 Bible (King James) Deut. vi. 14 Yee shall not goe after other gods. View more context for this quotation 1698 W. Bates Acct. Life & Death of Philip Henry x. 227 Rejoycing in hope of the Glory of God, which we are reaching after, and pressing towards. 1741 S. Richardson Pamela III. xxx. 201 There is nobody comes after her: She receives no Letters. 1755 T. Smollett tr. M. de Cervantes Don Quixote II. ii. ii. 115 The company not being willing to wait for the scrivener, who was gone after the foil. 1803 in D. Knox Naval Documents U.S. Wars Barbary Powers (1941) III. 273 The cutter was sent after sand and holy stones. 1876 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest II. x. 462 The new Metropolitan went to Rome after his pallium. 1909 M. J. Cawein Giant & Star 86 Old Sis Snow..Sticks her long white fingers through Every crack and cranny too, Reaching after me and you. 1978 Texas Monthly Jan. 62/2 The officer contends that Mendoza came after him with a knife. 2000 A. Huebner Amer. by Blood 84 I hear they went and stuck his head in the latrine, sent him after a flask someone'd dropped. 4. Indicating the aim or object of many verbs, adjectives, and nouns of action. Cf. to be after at Phrases 5. a. With verbs, adjectives, and nouns of desire, as long, hanker, hunger, thirst, eager, greedy, hankering, etc.: for the acquisition or gain of. ΘΚΠ the mind > will > intention > [preposition] > indicating purpose toc893 afterOE fortc1200 tilla1352 the mind > will > intention > [preposition] > indicating purpose > in order to get afterOE OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) xxxvi. 493 Se bið ofhingrod & ofþyrst æfter rihtwisnysse, se þe godes beboda lustlice gehyrð. OE Beowulf (2008) 1879 He þone breostwylm forberan ne mehte, ac him on hreþre hygebendum fæst æfter deorum men dyrne langað beorn [perh. read born] wið blode. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 2966 To ȝeornenn affterr weorelld þing. a1250 Ureisun ure Louerde (Nero) in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 200 (MED) Heo..wilned efter cumfort on eorðe. c1300 St. Vincent (Laud) l. 169 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 189 Seint Vincent..longuede after reste. a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 59 (MED) Appeles & alle þinges þat childern after wilnen. ?c1400 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (BL Add. 10340) (1868) ii. pr. v. l. 1311 For hys wickednesse þe more gredy aftir oþer folkes rycchesse. c1410 (c1350) Gamelyn (Harl. 7334) 636 (MED) He was sore alonged after a good meel. a1500 (c1400) St. Erkenwald (1977) l. 304 (MED) Þat solempne fest, Þer richely hit arne refetyd þat after right hungride. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms xlii. 1 Like as the hert desyreth [1611 panteth after] the water brokes, So longeth my soule after the, o God. a1625 J. Boys Wks. (1629) 400 People, who being Crop-sicke, doe not hunger after the righteousnesse of Gods kingdome. 1642 D. Rogers Naaman 479 An ardent affection after it, as one that is famished. 1709 R. Steele Tatler 18 Apr. 18 Will. Ubi, who is so thirsty after the Reputation of a Companion. 1767 tr. D. Cranz Hist. Greenland II. ix. vi. 281 The Greenlandish women are wont to be much more eager after the gospel than their husbands. 1796 J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (new ed.) I. 301 A prevailing desire after a peaceable accommodation. 1800 S. T. Coleridge tr. F. Schiller Death Wallenstein ii. iii. 44 Because I Endeavour'd after peace, therefore I fall. 1842 T. B. Macaulay Ess. (1848) II. 144 He was greedy after power with a greediness all his own. 1853 W. M. Thackeray Newcomes (1854) I. v. 52 This brave man thought ever of his absent child, and longed after him. 1897 ‘Ouida’ Massarenes xxxix. 477 You are as keen after gold as a stoat after poultry. 1926 J. Devanny Butcher Shop xxi. 265 Miette wanted him, but not crazily, as she still hungered after the Maori. 2007 S. Worboyes Lipstick & Powder iii. 72 He had always hankered after a place in the country. b. With verbs, adjectives, and nouns of seeking or desiring information, as ask, enquire, etc.: for information about; for news of. ΚΠ OE Beowulf (2008) 331 Wlonc hæleð oretmecgas æfter hæleþum [read æþelum] frægn. OE tr. Apollonius of Tyre (1958) xiv. 20 Se iunga man þe þu æfter axsodest is forliden man. c1225 (?c1200) St. Margaret (Bodl.) (1934) 38 (MED) Cuð me & ken þet ich easki efter. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 8489 Þe king..bad æuerælcne mon axien after Mærlin. c1330 (?c1300) Amis & Amiloun (Auch.) (1937) 679 (MED) After his douhter he asked swiþe. c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. v. l. 543 I seygh neuere palmere..Axen after hym. a1438 Bk. Margery Kempe (1940) i. 96 (MED) Þer was comyn a preste..speryng & inqwyryng diligently aftyr þe seyd creatur. 1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) ii. l. 55 His men eftir him askit thai. a1500 (a1450) Partonope of Blois (BL Add.) (1912) l. 608 (MED) A-none hym axed thys worthy kynge After hys Neuowe, Partonope. 1589 W. Warner Pan his Syrinx xxvii. sig. M Not omitting to enquire after those in Quest of whome they thus sailed. 1611 Bible (King James) Deut. xii. 30 That thou enquire not after their gods. View more context for this quotation 1670 F. Vernon Let. 14 Dec. in H. Oldenburg Corr. (1970) VII. 323 The Italians are not very Curious after Sciences. 1675 I. Newton Let. 30 Nov. (1959) I. 359 An ancient Gentleman I met..being thick of hearing desired me to inquire after ye form of Mr Mace's Otocousticon. 1745 E. Haywood Female Spectator I. vi. 370 She assured her that the Child she enquired after was alive, and a fine Boy. 1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 146. 193 He..is sometimes provoked by importunate inquiries after the white bear. 1775 R. B. Sheridan Rivals ii. i I told him you had sent me to inquire after his health. 1822 Ld. Byron Werner iii. i Asking after you With nobly-born impatience. 1869 Atlantic Monthly Jan. 87/2 England was satisfied with iron from Sweden without being impertinently inquisitive after her painters and statuaries. 1888 J. W. Burgon Lives Twelve Good Men I. i. 69 He inquired after my standing in the University. 1915 C. S. Churchill Let. 15 Dec. in W. S. Churchill & C. S. Churchill Speaking for Themselves (1999) vi. 134 The P.M. snuffled & asked after you & asked if you were happy. 1951 Pop. Sci. Sept. 240/2 You omit to ask after the health of his aged mother. 2006 Courier Mail (Austral.) (Nexis) 29 Dec. 20 I got on the phone and rang three other couples who have seven or eight kids and inquired after their health. c. With verbs of hailing or calling, as call, shout, whistle, etc. (a) So as to attract the attention of (a person moving away from the subject); in the direction of (a departing person). ΚΠ OE Ælfric Old Test. Summary: Kings (Julius) in W. W. Skeat Ælfric's Lives of Saints (1881) I. 402 Þa geseah Heliseus hu he siðode up, and clypode hlude æfter his lareowe þus: ‘Pater mi.’ c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) l. 770 As he loked along þere as oure Lorde passed, ȝet he cryed hym after. 1600 R. Surflet tr. C. Estienne & J. Liébault Maison Rustique i. xxv. 158 He must whoop and whistle after them, threatning them with his sheepe-crooke. 1684 J. Bunyan Pilgrim's Progress 2nd Pt. 205 Mr. Great-heart called after him, saying, so-ho, Friend, let us have your Company. View more context for this quotation 1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 59 (1806) II. 87 They never call after those who run away from them. 1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield I. iv. 39 The very children..will hoot after us. 1841 C. Dickens Barnaby Rudge xxxv. 140 A set of ragamuffins comes a shouting after us ‘Gordon for ever!’ 1891 F. T. Elworthy 12th Rep. Comm. Devonshire Verbal Provincialisms 132 These lines used to be shouted after the children who did not come to school in time. 1936 C. Woolrich in Detective Fiction Weekly 4 July 13/1 ‘Bon voyage!’ the concierge yelled after him. 2004 L. Desoto Blade of Grass lvi. 383 ‘Watch out for snakes,’ he calls after her as she moves out of sight. (b) In order to get; with the hope or intention of acquiring or obtaining. Now rare.With quot. ?1518 cf. the note at whistle v. 1. ΚΠ c1225 (?c1200) St. Juliana (Bodl.) l. 419 (MED) Ha..ȝeornliche ȝeiȝeð efter godes grace to help & to heale. ?a1300 (c1250) Prov. Hendyng (Digby) xiv, in Anglia (1881) 4 193 (MED) After help longe he may calle. c1330 Sir Degare (Auch.) 238 in W. H. French & C. B. Hale Middle Eng. Metrical Romances (1930) 295 (MED) Þe litel child þai herde crie, And clepede after help on hie. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 17842 (MED) Anoon þei calde aftir parchemyne [Vesp. badd..giue þaim parchemin]. c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) iv. l. 6832 (MED) Goddes..After whos helpe now I clepe & calle. ?1518 Cocke Lorelles Bote sig. C.j^v Some stered at the helme behynde Some whysteled after the wynde. 1578 J. Rolland Seuin Seages 7 Sa on the morne he cryit efter his clais. 1603 H. Clapham Three Partes Salomon Song of Songs Expounded iii. iii. 149 How well may the Gentiles seede..cry after a freedome..from the rudiments of the world. 1959 Listener 10 Dec. 1034/1 For a long time now it has been fashionable to cry after new ‘textures’ in sound. †d. With verbs of seeing or observing, as behold, aspy, etc.: in the direction of; in order to see. Obsolete.Recorded earliest (and in later use only) in to look after —— 1 at look v. Phrasal verbs 2. ΚΠ OE Blickling Homilies 121 Þa hie þa in þone heofon locodan æfter him, & hie Drihten gesawon upastigendne. c1300 (?c1225) King Horn (Cambr.) (1901) l. 1093 (MED) Aþulf was in þe ture Abute, for to pure After his comynge. c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. i. l. 14 (MED) Esteward ich byhulde after þe sonne [c1390 A text an-heiȝ to þe sonne]. ?a1475 Ludus Coventriae (1922) 43 (MED) Fly fforth, þou fayr dove, ovyr þese waterys wete and aspye afftere sum drye lond. †e. With verbs of waiting or remaining, as abide, stand, wait, etc.: in expectation of; in wait for. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > expectation > in expectation of [preposition] afterc1175 c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 6507 All þatt ȝer herode king Bad affterr þeȝȝre come. To witenn ȝiff þeȝȝ haffdenn crist. c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 7563 (MED) After betere wind hii moste þere at stonde. c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. ii. l. 124 (MED) He was [read Hewes] in þe halyday after heten wayten. c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) i. l. 2739 (MED) Sche so longe abood after hir knyȝt. a1500 Craft of Dying (Rawl.) in C. Horstmann Yorkshire Writers (1896) II. 408 (MED) His welbelouyd & trusti frende..þat he had lon[g] abyd and lokid after [v.r. fore]. 1515 Festyvall (W. de Worde) 79 b The abbot..stode under a pyler and abode after Thomas. f. With verbs, adjectives, and nouns of searching, as search, hunt, etc.: in order to find (something lost, hidden, or not in one's possession).Recorded earliest in to seek after at seek v. 15. ΚΠ c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 6273 & all forrwerrp þu towarrd himm. To sekenn affterr wræche. c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xii. l. 217 (MED) And so I sey by þe þat sekest after þe whyes. 1566 J. Martiall Treat. Crosse ii. 6 Ægernesse in searching after bokes, and trouble in seeking after non communicants. 1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 i. i. 29 My seruant Trauers who I sent..to listen after newes. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) i. i. 63 He after Honour hunts, I after Loue. View more context for this quotation 1670 E. Browne Let. 30 May in H. Oldenburg Corr. (1970) VII. 19 They still report of searching after silver in these partes. 1707 J. Dunton Bumography p. xiii She is Courteous and Sociable to her Neighbours, but scorns to go a hunting after Gossipings. 1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 144. ⁋11 This impartial and zealous enquirer after truth. 1838 T. F. Dibdin Bibliogr. Antiquarian & Picturesque Tour Northern Counties Eng. I. 128 I did not leave Doncaster..without a rummage after a Polyglot Bible in the Parochial Library. 1892 E. S. Brookes Frontier Life xiv. 130 At one time Von Rotter..became smitten with the gold fever, spending his holidays in fossicking after the precious metal. 1937 Discovery Mar. 94/1 The genuine alchemist was an earnest searcher after truth. 2007 E. J. Wood et al. Beyond Survival vii. 143 Following up one good source may lead the user..back to the library catalog to forage after additional call numbers. II. Senses relating to time. 5. a. Following in the succession of time; in succession to. ΘΚΠ the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > succession or following in time > succeeding, following, or after [preposition] afterOE afterwardOE artera1746 following1841 the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > succession or following in time > succeeding, following, or after [preposition] > subsequent to afterOE OE Vercelli Homilies (1992) ii. 64 Þær..ne næfre dæg ne cymeð æfter dæge, ne niht æfter nihte. OE West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) i. 30 Æfter me cymð wer þe me beforan geworden wæs. lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough interpolation) anno 686 Heo wæs se þridde abbot æfter Saxulfe. c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 1383 (MED) Þis kimbel after is fader king was of þis londe. a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 1445 (MED) He has a sone dere..þat schal be emperour after him. a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1882) iv. l. 421 Al so seur as day cometh after nyght. ?a1475 Ludus Coventriae (1922) 35 (MED) Afftyr Adam..þe secunde fadyr am I. a1500 J. Mirk's Festial (Harl. 2247) (1981) 66 (MED) This made Adam in his testament to euery Cristen creature þat shuld be born of woman after hym. 1599 A. M. tr. O. Gaebelkhover Bk. Physicke 9/1 Doe this the continuance of 9 dayes after other, every morning. 1620 T. Venner Via Recta vii. 115 They are not good to be taken after meat. a1631 J. Donne Serm. (1954) VII. 387 That King, that comes after a good Predecessour, hath a shrewd burthen upon him. 1701 J. Prince Danmonii Orientales Illustres 338 He left..a Widow..to Turtle it after him, as he had done before. 1745 W. Harris Let. 10 Dec. in Earl of Malmesbury Lett. (1870) I. 21 By leaving what he had in money, the scramble might be made the easier among those that came after him. 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 262 And what was it to him who ruled after him? 1858 Times 19 Nov. 5/5 One witness after another had proved that the General Company put on omnibuses wherever they had any. 1918 W. Cather My Ántonia iv. iii. 346 The windy springs and the blazing summers, one after another, had enriched and mellowed that flat tableland. 2004 Which? Aug. 28/1 So what comes after MP3? Why, MP4 of course. b. In phrases indicating something happening continuously or repeatedly, as hour after hour, man after man, night after night, etc.See also day after day at day n. Phrases 2a, time after time at time n., int., and conj. Phrases 1i(a), word after word at word n. and int. Phrases 2a(a), year after year at year n. Phrases 2d. ΚΠ c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 620 O þatt illke wise comm. Aȝȝ dækenn affterr dækenn. a1225 MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 75 (MED) Ic ou wile seggen word efter word. 1674 R. Strange Life S. Thomas Cantilupe xxiii. 293 And soe strophe after strophe till the hymne was ended. 1798 S. T. Coleridge Anc. Marinere ii, in W. Wordsworth & S. T. Coleridge Lyrical Ballads 13 Day after day, day after day, We stuck, ne breath ne motion. 1816 Monthly Mag. May 367/2 Man after man is ruined, family after family is swallowed up. 1866 G. A. Sala Trip to Barbary 93 In front of the Grand Hotel gather group after group. 1893 B. Harraden Ships that Pass i. vii ‘It seems so little to ask,’ she cried to herself time after time. 1943 W. Stegner Big Rock Candy Mountain i. 23 Mile after mile, hour after hour..past windmills and discouraged plantings of saplings. 6. a. Subsequent to, following the interval of, at the conclusion of (a period of time). ΚΠ eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) i. x. 29 Hie ðær æfter hrædlice tide from þæm londleodum þurh seara ofslægene wurdon. OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xxvii. 63 Æfter þrym dagon ic arise. c1175 ( Homily (Bodl. 343) in S. Irvine Old Eng. Homilies (1993) 168 Crist ‘æfter six daȝum’ [L. post dies sex] fulde þæt he his þeinum bihet. a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Gen. xl. 19 Thre panyeris ben ȝit thre daies, aftir whiche Farao schal take awei thin heed. 1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) i. 40 The land..Lay desolat eftyr hys day. a1500 (?c1425) Speculum Sacerdotale (1936) 171 (MED) It happened after the space of þe xxx yere. 1582 Bible (Rheims) Gal. ii. 1 Then after fourtene yeres I went vp againe to Hierusalem. 1625 J. Hart Anat. Urines ii. v. 80 After a while she fell into a night feauer. 1651 J. French Art Distillation v. 109 They will after a time contract a mucilaginous slimie matter. 1743 T. Jones in Buccleuch MSS (Hist. MSS Comm.) (1899) I. 402 After 24 hours' waiting, the troops were obliged to retire. 1790 J. Adams Mod. Voy. II. lxxvi. 45 They were to meet again after a short absence. 1835 J. E. Alexander Sketches in Portugal xi. 265 After some delay before we could get our yellow quarantine-flag struck, we were allowed to land. 1877 L. P. Brockett Cross & Crescent 185 After ages of submission, they became restless and rebellious. 1937 Life 13 Sept. 39/3 (caption) After eight hours of boiling in 3,000° F., the steel is ready to be tapped into the big ladle. 2001 A. Sayle Dog Catcher 7 After a while the barman came over. b. Subsequent to or later than (an event or point in time). ΘΚΠ the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > succession or following in time > succeeding, following, or after [preposition] > subsequent to or later than a point of time aftereOE eOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Parker) anno 773 Her oþiewde read Cristesmęl on hefenum æfter sunnan setlgonge. lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1130 Ðes ilces geares com se abbot Heanri of Angeli æfter Æsterne to Burch. a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 47 On þe ehteðe dai efter his burþe. ?a1200 (?OE) Peri Didaxeon (1896) 3 After Noes flode ymba wintra a þusund and fif hund wintra. c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 8422 (MED) Anon after midsomer þis bataile ido was. a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 77 (MED) Þe child schuld weld al here godis..after here lif dawes. c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 609 Soone after the mydnyght. c1440 (?c1350) in G. G. Perry Relig. Pieces in Prose & Verse (1914) 26 (MED) Eftire þis sall þou wiete, whilke ere þe ten comandementis. 1485 Malory's Morte Darthur (Caxton) i. viii. sig. avi After the deth of the duke more than thre houres was Arthur begoten. a1500 (?c1425) Speculum Sacerdotale (1936) 159 They schette hem in a cenakle or a sowpynge place vnto þe xi day after þe ascension in fastyngis and prayingis. 1577 R. Holinshed Hist. Scotl. 407/2 in Chron. I Adrian y^e Bishop of Romes Legate came too late, as who shuld say, a day after y^e fayre. 1588 A. King tr. P. Canisius Cathechisme or Schort Instr. 14 Æternal lyffe..for y^e chosin eftir deathe. 1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning ii. sig. Bb3 The Narration may bee before the fact, aswell as after . View more context for this quotation 1640 in J. Nicholson Minute Bk. War Comm. Covenanters Kirkcudbright 24 Nov. (1855) 98 Four dayes efter your receipt heirof. 1728 in G. Lamoine Charges to Grand Jury (1992) 261 Others, whose Attainders, soon after the Revolution, were reversed by Parliament. 1769 R. Wood Ess. Homer 60 It is allowed on all hands, that Prose writing was unknown in Greece, till long after the Poet's time. 1832 H. Martineau Hill & Valley viii. 124 It was long after dark. 1870 Ld. Tennyson Golden Supper in Holy Grail 171 The eleventh moon After their marriage. 1915 Act 5 & 6 Geo. V c.89 §38 In any accounting period which ended after the fourth day of August nineteen hundred and fourteen. 1977 O. Schell China (1978) iii. 267 After the robbery, I get decked by an incensed worker. 2008 D. Lodge Deaf Sentence (2009) ii. 16 After my test I saw the ENT consultant. c. In stating the time of day: so many minutes, or a quarter or half of an hour, past a particular hour. In later use also with elision of the hour. Cf. half adv. 3b(b). Now chiefly North American. ΘΚΠ the world > time > reckoning of time > [preposition] > to or past (a certain hour) aftera1500 till1949 a1500 in T. Wright & J. O. Halliwell Reliquiæ Antiquæ (1845) I. 319 (MED) The xix day of April, the sonne aryseth iij quarteres after iiij, and gooth downe a quartere after vij. 1519 in J. Raine Fabric Rolls York Minster (1859) 269 Prime bell to seice a quarter after ix. ?1597 J. Blagrave Apol. & Addition to Vranicall Astrolabe sig. B There shal the nooneline shew you in the hower circle almost a quarter after 6 of the clock, the time of son rising that day. 1699 G. Garden Apol. Antonia Bourignon iv. xxxvi. 284 They learn'd to read and write till half after Six. 1732 B. Lynde Diary 31 Mar. in B. Lynde & B. Lynde Diaries (1880) 24 a.m. ½ after 5 I went with son's horse. 1774 P. V. Fithian Jrnl. & Lett. (1900) 271 I..rode thence to Westmoreland Court House ten Miles by half after six. 1775 in Essex Inst. Hist. Coll. (1912) XLVIII. 52 We was preaded [i.e. paraded] about half after two in the morning. 1809 M. Edgeworth Madame de Fleury i, in Tales Fashionable Life II. 167 It was now half after four. 1853 C. Dickens Bleak House xlix. 472 ‘At half-after one.’ Says Mr. Bagnet. ‘To the minute. They'll be done.’ 1905 N.Y. Evening Post 27 Jan. 3 About half after twelve the roof of the building fell in with a crash. 1961 A. Miller Misfits i. 13 ‘It's twenty after nine.’ ‘After!’ Isabelle comes farther out on the porch and calls up to a second-floor window: ‘Dear girl? It's twenty after!’ 2008 L. Barclay Too Close to Home xxxvii. 344 I went to Kelly's at nine, not knowing whether he'd show up... But about five after, he came in. 7. a. In consequence of, as a result of, in the light of (a preceding action or event). ΚΠ OE Beowulf (2008) 1606 Þa þæt sweord ongan æfter heaþoswate hildegicelum..wanian. ?c1335 in W. Heuser Kildare-Gedichte (1904) 124 Sum þer beþ..Þat more haþ þan anoþer... Anoþer wol after þan Areri cuntake. 1477 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Hist. Jason (1913) 47 After that I vnderstonde by your wordes ye haue sent him from you. 1554 in Bannatyne Misc. (1855) III. 77 Efter the obite of Erile Halcon succedit Erile Rolland. 1609 S. Daniel Civile Wares (rev. ed.) viii. xciv. 227 Sit downe, And rest you, after all this passed thrall. 1677 T. Baker Let. 15 June in S. P. Rigaud & S. J. Rigaud Corr. Sci. Men 17th Cent. (1841) (modernized text) II. 29 If after the perusal it may be thought fit to have it printed, [etc.]. 1722 D. Defoe Moll Flanders 165 That's not a fair Question, says I, after what you have said. 1753 J. Hanway Hist. Acct. Brit. Trade Caspian Sea II. xxxiii. 206 After what has been said..we may contemplate the superior charms of liberty. 1841 W. L. MacCalla Adventures in Texas 46 After such an address from a citizen of that calumniated country.., I took the liberty of withdrawing to another apartment. 1877 W. Lytteil Landmarks Sc. Life & Lang. i. iv. 34 After what has been already said, any one will readily see that [etc.]. 1946 Liberty 1 June 36/2 Hasn't a guy got a right to a few snorts after what happened to me? 1998 A. Wood EastEnders (BBC TV script) (O.E.D. Archive) Episode 670. 34 I've had it with him Roy, especially after what he did to Robbie. b. In spite of, notwithstanding (a preceding action or event). ΚΠ a1500 ( J. Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. (Rawl.) (1898) 153 Aftyr all this glorie, hym befell the fowle dethe. a1500 (?c1425) Speculum Sacerdotale (1936) 129 (MED) After all this þe seynt was hole and semyd as a man vnhurtyd. 1578 J. Lyly Euphues f. 30^v After all his strife he [sc. Menelaus] wan but a Strumpet. a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) v. i. 339 Harke how the villaine would close now, after his treasonable abuses. View more context for this quotation 1674 N. Fairfax Treat. Bulk & Selvedge 24 After all this wheeling about, we are not a step further than we were. 1710 S. Palmer Moral Ess. Prov. 69 After all our complaints of the lawyers and the law, there is no man in this kingdom too big for either. 1763 Case & Replication Legal Representatives J. Clifford 100 If justice be denied after such request, it is reasonable to arm him with power, to take satisfaction by reprize. 1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas III. vii. ii. 35 After this, if you do not play your cards, it is your own fault. 1877 Southern Hist. Soc. Papers 3 176 Such a rebuke to negotiation after a civil war of half this magnitude in any European nation, probably would have called down the intervention of its neighbors. 1915 J. Hay Man who Forgot viii. 83 He was wondering that she should be so friendly..toward him after his behaviour two days before. 1964 Life 10 Apr. 72/2 It was funny because, after all that, he had spelled the name wrong. 1996 H. Fielding Bridget Jones's Diary (1997) 269 I can't believe you're being so mean, darling. After all I've done for you. c. after all (also U.S. afterall): in spite of any indications or expectations to the contrary; when all is said and done, nevertheless. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > testing > attestation, witness, evidence > qualification > [adverb] > however, nevertheless, notwithstanding though-whetherc897 nathelesseOE though971 whetherOE yetOE neverlOE what for-thyc1175 nethelessa1200 never the latterc1225 algatec1230 in spite of (despite, maugre, etc.) one's teethc1230 nought for thatc1275 (all) for noughtc1325 (in) spite of one's nosec1325 alway1340 thoughless1340 ne'er the later (also latter)a1382 ne'er the lessa1382 neverlatera1382 neverthelessa1382 ne for-thia1400 neverlessa1400 not-againstandinga1400 nauthelessc1400 nouthelessc1400 algatesc1405 noughtwithstanding1422 netherless?a1425 notwithstanding1425 nethertheless1440 not gainstandingc1440 not the lessa1450 alwaysa1470 howbeit1470 never þe quedera1475 nought the lessc1480 what reck?a1513 nonetheless1533 howsomever1562 after all1590 in spite of spite1592 meantime1594 notwithstand1596 withal1596 in the meanwhile1597 meanwhile1597 howsoever1601 in (one's) spite?1615 however1623 in the meantime1631 non obstante1641 at the same time1679 with a non-obstante to1679 stilla1699 the same1782 all the same1803 quand même1825 still and all1829 anyhow1867 anyway1876 still and ona1894 all the samey1897 just the same1901 but1939 the mind > attention and judgement > testing > attestation, witness, evidence > qualification > [adverb] > at all events, at any rate alwayc1405 alwaysa1413 of all hands1548 when all is said and done?1570 after all1590 howevera1616 at all rates1667 at any rate1730 whether or no1784 anyhow1799 anyways1828 anyhows1830 anyway1832 any road1855 anywise1859 whatever1870 any old how1900 anyhoo1924 nohow1926 anyroads1929 1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene ix. 539 Yet after all, he victour did suruiue. 1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding i. iv. 35 Not that I want a due respect to other Mens Opinions; but after all, the greatest reverence is due to Truth. 1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 462. ⁋1 But after all he is very pleasant Company. a1774 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued (1777) III. iv. xxix. 154 And after all perhaps we have no greater enjoyments among us than those of eating when we are hungry. 1809 W. Irving Hist. N.Y. II. vii. viii. 239 Yet after all he was a mere mortal. 1846 Ld. Tennyson in Punch 10 106/1 Surely, after all, The noblest answer unto such Is kindly silence when they brawl. 1876 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest I. ii. 20 The Roman occupation was, after all, very superficial. 1906 Arizona Republican 10 Sept. 6/3 Fifty-three job holders were assassinated in Russia last month. After all, that is cheaper than muck-raking them out of their jobs. 1932 L. Golding Magnolia St. ii. ii. 295 Perhaps, after all, it'll be a good match. There will be a simchah. 1976 Billings (Montana) Gaz. 1 July (Advt. Suppl.) Afterall, the movement of people, not vehicles, is what counts. 2008 J. Armstrong & S. Bain Peep Show 5th Ser. Episode 5. 312/1 It's not such a drag the fest being strictly drink- and drugs-free after all, is it? III. Senses relating to order. 8. Next to in point of order or importance. Formerly also (in negative constructions): †with the exception of, save (obsolete). ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > preceding or following in order > precede or follow in order [preposition] > next in order afterOE OE tr. Defensor Liber Scintillarum (1969) lvi. 336 Hieronimus dixit bonum est quidem post deum amare parentes ac filios : sæde god hit ys witodlice æfter Gode lufian magas & bearn. c1175 ( in A. O. Belfour 12th Cent. Homilies in MS Bodl. 343 (1909) 44 Æfter ðissum weccæn þa festene beoð hihtlice to lufitenne [read lufiȝenne; OE Vercelli æfter þissum gehyhtlice fylgað þa fæstenu; L. post haec congrue sequuntur ieiunia]. c1225 (?c1200) St. Margaret (Bodl.) (1934) 30 (MED) Ich habbe, efter Belzebub, meast monnes bone ibeon. a1250 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 6 (MED) To þe one is al mi trust, efter þine leoue sune. ?a1300 Iacob & Iosep (Bodl.) (1916) l. 207 (MED) Ich wole þe make richest man after oure kinge. c1390 Roberd of Cisyle (Vernon) (1930) l. 23 (MED) A strengur weorreour nas non founde, After his broþer of Cisyle. ?c1430 (c1400) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 188 (MED) No man, after crist, was holyere þan baptist. a1475 (?a1350) Seege Troye (Harl.) (1927) l. 830 (MED) Agamenoun..after Euluxes Þe best knyght in his kyndom was. a1475 Sidrak & Bokkus (Lansd.) (Ph.D. diss., Univ. of Washington) (1965) l. 6648 (MED) After mete and drinke is rest To norisshe þe body..best. 1584 J. Southern Pandora sig. B.i^v Syluer Pheb, is the after, most clare. 1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. xxxi. vii. 416 The Tarentine salt was in old time highly commended aboue the best: after which they esteemed most, all the sea salts. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Pastorals vii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 32 Codrus after Phœbus sings the best. 1759 Mod. Part Universal Hist. IX. 508 After Guam, this is the largest, and was formerly the best peopled of all these islands. 1777 W. Jones Arcadia 105 And after Pan thy lips will grace it best. 1811 J. Black tr. A. von Humboldt Polit. Ess. New Spain III. 130 Tin..after Titanium, Scheelin and Molybdena is the oldest metal of the globe. 1864 Ld. Tennyson Enoch Arden in Enoch Arden, etc. 24 ‘I am content’ he answer'd ‘to be loved A little after Enoch.’ 1903 W. L. Dawson Birds of Ohio II. 407 The Red-shouldered Buzzard is, after the Sparrow Hawk, the commonest bird of prey in the state. 1943 W. Lewis Let. 26 Jan. (1963) 343 This [sc. Canada] is after Africa the second largest gold-producing centre on the planet. 2005 S. Wales Evening Post (Nexis) 29 Dec. 13 It [sc. Cardiff] is..the city in the UK with the highest number of railway-borne commuters, after London. IV. Senses relating to manner or style. 9. Frequently in to do after in senses B. 9b, B. 9c. †a. On the authority of, as stated by, according to (an author or text). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > order > agreement, harmony, or congruity > conformity to or with a pattern, etc. > according to [preposition] > the statements of afterOE OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 87 Æfter Donatum, þam lareowe, synd twa figura: simplex..et composita. c1175 ( Homily in A. O. Belfour 12th Cent. Homilies in MS Bodl. 343 (1909) 52 Þe mon þe ða synne edlæcð..is, æfter bocenæ saȝum, ilice ȝeþeawod þam hundun þe æt þæt he ær speaw. a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 77 (MED) After ðe hali writes, ealch miede is iteld for gauele. c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Parson's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) §410 And after the word of Seint Augustyn, it is sorwe of oother mennes wele. ?c1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (Paris) (1971) 74 Smale apostemes, after auicen, ben out semynges & bleynes [etc.]. 1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 230/4 She bad that the passyon after luke shold be redde. 1584 T. Cogan Hauen of Health vii. 28 Otes, after Galen, haue like nature as barlie. 1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. vii. lvi. 188 Anacharsis the Scythian, or after some, Hyperbios the Corinthian, invented the cast of turning the roundell or globe. b. In obedience to, in compliance or harmony with, according to (a law, will, order, advice, etc.). Now archaic and rare. ΘΚΠ society > authority > subjection > obedience > in obedience to [preposition] afterOE OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Luke ii. 22 Impleti sunt dies purgationis eius secundum legem Mosi : gefylled wer dagas clænsunges his æfter ae [OE Rushw. æfter æ Moyses]. OE West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) xii. 47 Soþlice þæne þeow þe his hlafordes willan wiste & ne dyde æfter his hlafordes willan [L. non fecit secundum voluntatem eius], he biþ witnad manegum witum. OE Paris Psalter (1932) cxviii. 149 Gehyr mine stefne, halig drihten, æfter ðinre þære myclan mildheortnesse [L. secundum misericordiam tuam], and æfter þinum domum [L. secundum iudicium tuum] do me halne. lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) anno 1121 Æfter þes cynges willan hi wið hine acordedan. lOE tr. Trinubium Sanctae Annae in W. Keller Probleme der Englischen Sprache u. Kultur (1925) 116 Æfter Cleophas deaðe, Anna æfter þære lage genam þone þridde were. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 120 Eȝȝþerr here ȝede swa. Rihht affterr godess lare. a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 9 (MED) Alswa hefden þe giwis heore sinagoge efter moises laȝe alswa we habbet nu chirche efter drihtenes laȝe. c1300 (?c1225) King Horn (Laud) (1901) l. 462 (MED) Hy schal wite more And don after þi lore. c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 2891 (MED) Wel sone dude þe Amyrel after ys counseil riȝt. a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) l. 47 (MED) Alle thing he ordaynd aftir is wille. 1477 Earl Rivers tr. Dictes or Sayengis Philosophhres (Caxton) (1877) lf. 11 Whether they haue obserued it [sc. a command] after theyr charge or nat. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Chron. xxix. B Yf he be constant to do after my commaundementes. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) John xix. 7 After our lawe he ought to dye. 1628 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy (ed. 3) iii. ii. iii. 492 To make good Musicke of their owne voices, and dance after it. 1672 F. B. Office Good House-wife 9 Let him not spare somtimes to seem to do after their advice..; For they will work with more cheerfulness, when they think that the matter is carryed according to their invention. 1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 94 At the end of their Quarentine, which is Forty days, after the Old Law, they enter the Hummums to purify. 1899 J. L. Weston tr. G. von Strassburg Story of Tristan & Iseult (1902) I. 80 Ask them what they deem good for the present need and do after their advice. †c. In compliance with the wishes of, at the request or command of (a person). Obsolete. ΚΠ c1225 (?c1200) Sawles Warde (Bodl.) (1938) 3 (MED) I þis hus is þe huse lauerd, ant te fulitohe wif mei beon wil ihaten þet ga þe hus efter hire; ha diht hit al to wundre. a1275 St. Margaret (Trin. Cambr.) l. 224 in A. S. M. Clark Seint Maregrete & Body & Soul (Ph.D. diss., Univ. of Michigan) (1972) 77 Do after me ant be my wif, ne be þe þi lif so loet. c1350 Gregorius (Cleo.) (1914) l. 150 (MED) And þou wolle do after me, To mi court ȝeo schal beo ibrouȝt. a1450 Castle Perseverance (1969) l. 1262 Þou art rewlyd aftyr þe fende..And noþynge certys aftyr me. a1500 (a1450) Generides (Trin. Cambr.) 6795 (MED) Madame..woll ye do After me? a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. xxii. 278 Pylate, do after vs, And dam to deth Iesus. 1592 (?a1425) Chester Plays (BL Add.) (1843) I. 31 (MED) Thou haste not donne after me..But donne to her byddinge. 10. a. In accordance with, according to (an example, manner, pattern, custom, idea, etc.).after a fashion: see fashion n. 5b. after a sort: see sort n.² 22. after the manner of: see manner n. 3a. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > behaviour > a standard of conduct > standard of conduct [preposition] > in conformity with afterOE till1340 OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) xiv. 139 Hi æton þæt lamb æfter ðam ealdan gewunan. c1300 (c1250) Floris & Blauncheflur (Cambr.) (1966) l. 338 Þert icome..To makie a tur after þis cast. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iv. l. 2651 (MED) Hou that men schal the wordes pike After the forme of eloquence. ?c1430 (c1400) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 193 Ȝif prestis seyn here matynes, masse, & euensong aftir salisbury vsse. 1484 W. Caxton tr. G. de la Tour-Landry Bk. Knight of Tower (1971) cx. 147 (heading) To be charytable after thexemplary of our lady. a1500 (?c1425) Speculum Sacerdotale (1936) 54 (MED) After the custom of the kyngdom of Colayne..there is tythyng of dayes. 1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry i. f. 42^v To wynnowe it after the olde fashion with the winde. 1647 T. May Hist. Parl. ii. ii. 34 Their..cause lay bleeding in Ireland after so deplorable a kinde. 1672 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 7 5103 The Complex of the Planets, disposed and order'd..after the Copernican way. 1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 193. ⁋3 The levée of a great man is laid after the same manner. 1793 Literary & Biogr. Mag. Dec. 428/1 The temple of Ceres at Eleusis, which was erected after his own ideas, joined to the counsels of ignorant priests, was so destitute of good taste. 1833 T. De Quincey Revol. Greece in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Apr. 495/2 Managing the campaign after his own ideas, he speedily involved himself in quarrels. 1855 C. Dickens Little Dorrit (1857) i. i. 3 Handsome after its kind. 1879 W. B. Carpenter Princ. Mental Physiol. (ed. 5) i. ii. §82. 85 To build after one particular pattern. 1918 N. Bartley Bargain True xv. 238 He took her gravely to task for..fancying the world to be regulated after her own notions. 2004 R. Dew & P. Pape No Backup i. 6 Woven moccasins called opanci, which had a curled toe after the Turkish custom. b. In the manner of, in the same way as; in emulation of; like. Also with verbs of naming or designating: in imitation or memory of (see also name v. 1c).Cf. to take after —— at take v. Phrasal verbs 2. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > relationship > similarity > [preposition] > like, nearly, or as if afterOE toward1541 towards1563 OE tr. Apollonius of Tyre (1958) i. 2 An Antiochia þare ceastre wæs sum cyningc Antiochus gehaten: æfter þæs cyninges naman wæs seo ceastre [perh. read ceaster] Antiochia geciged. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 11300 Swa þatt te faderr wurrþe firrst. Iechonyas ȝehatenn. & allse hiss sune efft affterr himm. Beo iechoniass nemmnedd. a1275 (?c1200) Prov. Alfred (Trin. Cambr.) (1955) 110 (MED) Ofte mused þe catt after þe moder. c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 1409 (MED) Þe nexte monþe..He let after him clupie august. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xv. v. 728 He gadred moche folke..and toke Armenia and clepid it aftir his owne name. c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) l. 5409 (MED) More hij ben þan olyfaunz, Blake-heueded after a palfray. c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 125 Frenssh she spak..After the scole of Stratford at the Bowe. c1430 (c1386) G. Chaucer Legend Good Women (Cambr. Gg.4.27) (1879) l. 1072 Eneas..Aftyr Venus hadde he swich fayrnesse That no man myghte be half so fayr. 1484 W. Caxton tr. G. de la Tour-Landry Bk. Knight of Tower (1971) xx. 39 That she be arayed after the good ladyes of the Countre. c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 1613 Rome..was set..Tild vpon Tiber after Troy like. 1543 ( Chron. J. Hardyng (1812) 42 This kyng Brutus..when he had the Isle all tripertyed, He called the chyefe Logres after Locryne. ?1577 F. T. Debate Pride & Lowlines sig. Ciii^v And [they] were clothed after citiȝen. 1601 A. Munday tr. J. Teixeira Strangest Aduenture 83 Some were attired after the French, others like Hollanders. 1630 tr. G. Botero Relations Famous Kingdomes World (rev. ed.) 513 The Asians they terme after their owne name, Turks; but the Europians, Rumi, that is, Romans. 1691 T. Downes Exam. Arguments from Scripture & Reason 22 His Arguments against the Bishop's do equally conclude against his own Directions; and thus I argue after him. 1710 R. Steele Tatler No. 228. ⁋4 I must..copy after an old Almanack which I have by me. 1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 2. ⁋1 Sir Roger de Coverley. His Great Grand-father was Inventor of that famous Country-Dance which is called after him. 1795 E. Gibbon Autobiogr. 74 After his oracle Dr. Johnson, my friend..denies all original genius. 1839 H. Hallam Introd. Lit. Europe III. v. 470 Some are said to dress after a lady for whom nature has done more than for themselves. 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 491 A succession of bands designated, as was the fashion of that age, after their leaders. 1865 Fraser's Mag. Dec. 751/2 Arguing (after De Quincey) that a succession of passiuncles exhausts the soil of the heart. 1908 U. Sinclair Metropolis xvi. 279 Here was a woman who costumed herself after figures in famous paintings. 1924 A. F. Major tr. J. Brøndsted Early Eng. Ornament iii. 293 He christens them [sc. rune-stones] after the reddish sandstone,..the ‘Ringerike Group’. 1995 C. Hamnett in T. Butler & M. Savage Social Change & Middle Classes xv. 262 Jager argues, after Baudrillard, that socially produced objects can express the same logic as conspicuous leisure. c. In imitation of, in the style of (an artist or work). Also: in resemblance of, representing (a person or thing). ΚΠ OE Genesis B 396 He hæfð mon geworhtne æfter his onlicnesse. OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 14 Sume syndon facticia, þa synd geworhte æfter gelicnysse agenes sweges: tintinnabolum belle, turtur turtle. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 18824 Þatt arrke..iss wrohht off tre. Affterr þin herrtess arrke. c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) l. 335 (MED) He took virgyne waxe And made a popet after þe quene. ?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 109 (MED) Symulacres ben ymages made after lykness of men..or of the mone or of ony best. a1438 Bk. Margery Kempe (1940) i. 77 (MED) An ymage..mad aftyr our Lord. c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 8758 A meruelous ymage, All grauen of gold..Amyt after Ector. 1558 (a1449) J. Lydgate Minor Poems (1911) i. 290 (MED) Se this glorious fygure, Whiche Sent Luke of our lady lyvynge After her lyknes made in picture. 1634 W. Tirwhyt tr. J. L. G. de Balzac Lett. 120 Nor will I believe he was made after the image of God, lest therein I should wrong so excellent a nature. 1667 E. Waterhouse Short Narr. Fire London 90 She seems to be framed after the Protoplast of the Nation, that she answers every feature and digestion of parts in the Greater Body. 1762 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Painting II. i. 31 Nicholas, the second son..while abroad modelled after the antiques. 1845 A. Jameson Handbk. Publ. Galleries 313 Venus and Cupid..a copy after Titian. 1850 A. Jameson Sacred & Legendary Art 1 A portfolio of prints after the old masters. 1912 Times 3 June 6/1 The velvet brocade material..was woven after an English design. 1990 Antique Collector Oct. 64 (caption) A painted enamel plaque after Philippe Mercier. 2002 J. Grieve tr. M. Proust In Shadow of Young Girls in Flower ii. 386 At the very bottom of this Harmony in Grey and Pink after Whistler, a tiny moth [etc.]. †11. In a manner proportionate to; as befitting, appropriate to. Obsolete (archaic in later use). ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > order > agreement, harmony, or congruity > suitability or appropriateness > in a manner suitable to [preposition] afterOE according1549 OE Vercelli Homilies (1992) iii. 74 Æfter þam gemete þære dæde, he sceal him þa hreowsunge gedeman. OE Ælfric Old Eng. Hexateuch: Gen. (Claud.) i. 25 God ða geworhte ðære eorðan deor æfter heora hiwum..& eall creopende cynn on heora cynne. a1225 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Lamb.) l. 64 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 163 (MED) And ȝeuen us ure swinkes lan efter ure erninge. c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 67 Ancre..ah to leaden heard lif, as dude þe leafdi iudith, efter hire euene. a1350 in G. L. Brook Harley Lyrics (1968) 69 We bueþ dempned after vr dede a domesday. a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 1936 (MED) No man..schuld mow deuise men richlier a-raid..þe grete after here degre in þe gaiest wise, & menere men as þei miȝt. 1432 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VI (Electronic ed.) Parl. May 1432 §36. m. 6 There should no man ben amerced bote after þe quantite of his trespas. a1475 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (Laud) (1885) 124 (MED) Þe kynges right grete charge..shalbe more or lesse, aftir thair longe or shorte demure. 1549 T. Solme in H. Latimer 2nd Serm. before Kynges Maiestie To Rdr. sig. Avi Cut thy cloth after the mesure. ?1566–7 G. Buchanan Opinion Reformation Univ. St. Andros in Vernacular Writings (1892) 9 Thyr classis salbe..promovit hyear efter thair meritis. 1611 Bible (King James) Psalms xxviii. 4 Giue them after the worke of their handes. View more context for this quotation a1626 F. Bacon Considerations War with Spain in Wks. (1874) XIV. 469 According to bulk and currency and not after their intrinsick value. 1714 T. Ellwood Hist. Life (1765) 234 We followed after our own Pace. 1861 G. W. Dasent tr. Story Burnt Njal I. lvi. 184 As for the rest of the manslaughters, they were paid for after the worth of the men. †12. At the rate of. Cf. after the rate of at rate n.¹ 4a. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > monetary value > price > [preposition] > at the rate of after1469 1469 W. Ebesham in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 392 Item, for de Regimine Principum which conteyneth xlv^ti leves aftir a peny a leef, which is right wele worth. 1482 J. Dalton Let. 27 Jan. in Cely Lett. (1975) 129 I bowght vj^c peltys after iiij s. iiij d. a C and lytyll moor. 1512 in T. Percy Regulations & Establishm. Houshold Fifth Earl of Northumberland (1768) 3 Of Shids at Lekyngfeld in the Wodyarde xxx lode after viij d. the lode. 1587 W. Harrison Hist. Descr. Iland Brit. (new ed.) ii. i. 137/1 in Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) I If these paie after foure shillings for land, the cleargie contribute commonlie after six shillings of the pound. a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) ii. i. 232 Ile rent the fairest house in it after three pence a Bay. View more context for this quotation 1643 H. Slingsby Diary (1836) 94 Have their pay after 6 shillings a week. 1718 Terrier in Shropshire Parish Documents (1903) 19 There is a dispute..whether the odd Lambs are to be..after threepence or three half-pence apiece. C. conj. 1. Subsequent to the time when. Cf. branch B. II. a. Forming a compound conjunction. †(a) With pronoun and relative word. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > succession or following in time > succession [conjunction] > when, after, or after the time that aftereOE afterOE thatOE aftertime1443 afterward1483 artera1746 OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xxvi. 32 Æfter þam þe ic of deaþe arise ic cume to eow on Galilea. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 7667 Affterr þatt tatt he wass dæd Ne toc ȝho wiþþ nan oþerr. Acc ledde siþþenn widdwe lif. a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 51 (MED) Efterþan þet þe mon bið dead, me leið þene licome in þere þruh. (b) With relative word only (chiefly that). Now Caribbean. ΘΚΠ the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > succession or following in time > succession [conjunction] > when, after, or after the time that aftereOE afterOE thatOE aftertime1443 afterward1483 artera1746 eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) iv. xxiii. 326 Æfter þon [OE Corpus Cambr. æfter ðon þe] he hine gereste medmicel fæc, ða ahof hine up. OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Luke ii. 22 Postquam impleti sunt dies purgationis eius..tulerunt illum in Hierusalem : æfter ðon gefylled wer dagas clænsunges his..lædon hine in Hierusalem. ?a1200 (?OE) Peri Didaxeon (1896) 43 Æfter þæt seo blodlæse si ȝefylled, þu hine scealt scearpiȝean. a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 139 (MED) Sunnendei fond noe lond efter þet ure drihten hefde þet folc adreint. c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) l. 2928 (MED) After þat he spused wore, Wolde þe erl nouth dwelle þore, But sone nam until his lond. a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Jer. xxxvi. 27 And don is the wrd of the Lord to Jeremye, the profete, after that the king hadde brent the volum. c1425 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Harl.) 230 After þat Saxons & Englysse verst come þys lond to. c1450 Speculum Christiani (Harl. 6580) (1933) 24 (MED) Bot after that we haue for-sake oure-selfe, we be mych more fre fro besynes of hem. 1535 M. Coverdale Jer. xxxvi. 27 After now that the kynge had brente the boke. 1611 Bible (King James) Jer. xxxvi. 27 After that the king had burnt the roule. View more context for this quotation 1658 E. Ashmole Way to Bliss iii. ii. 183 Agricola saith..that Salt-Peter, after that by draining it hath lost its taste and virtue, if it be laid open in the Weather, will within five or six years space, grow and ripen. 1981 Advocate News (Barbados) 14 Feb. 1 It is only after that this is done, that the Government will appoint someone to talk to them. 1996 R. Allsopp Dict. Caribbean Eng. Usage 14/2 After when she came back, dey went to de beach. b. As a simple conjunction. ΚΠ a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 679 (MED) After he was a-waked a ful long þrowe, he wende ful witerly [etc.]. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1874) V. 357 (MED) He..deide þe ȝere after he hadde ifonge þe fey of holy chirche. ?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 116 (MED) After þei han slayn hem, þei spryngen the blood vpon the ydole. a1464 J. Capgrave Chron. Eng. (Cambr.) 62 (MED) This empoure Claudius was so oblivious that, sone aftir he had killid his wyf, he asked why sche came not to soper. 1526 Bible (Tyndale) Matt. xxvi. 32 After I am rysen ageyne. [ Wyclif After that I schal rise aȝen.] 1588 A. King tr. P. Canisius Cathechisme or Schort Instr. 31 Efter we knaw the law maker, we may rewerence him ye mair. 1623 N. Ferrar Diary 4 Mar. in D. R. Ransome 17th-cent. Polit. & Financial Papers (1996) i. 52 After the Match was interteyned itt was never mentioned. c1680 A. Wood Hist. & Antiq. Univ. Oxf. (1792) I. 60 After he had feasted the Scholars at his Inception, they like clownes left him. 1753 J. Hanway Hist. Acct. Brit. Trade Caspian Sea II. vi. 29 After the Portuguese had settled themselves in East India. 1772 L. Carter Diary 9 Oct. (1965) II. 738 Lead water is good to dry up a wound after it has well digested its matter. 1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. 10 A few days after the Revolution had been accomplished. 1896 Argosy Mar. 595/1 After they had refreshed themselves, they were assigned to their rooms. 1928 R. Jeffers Cawdor & Other Poems 17 Months later, after the rains began and cramped His migrant hunting, he thought [etc.]. 2005 M. M. Frisby Wifebeater xxxiii. 235 After she got dressed she came strutting back into the living room. †2. In the manner in which; according to what or how. Cf. branch B. IV. a. Forming a compound conjunction. (a) With pronoun and relative. Obsolete. ΚΠ eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) i. xv. 60 Æfter þon þe heo lærdon [L. secundum ea quae docebant], heo sylfe þurh all lifdon. OE Vercelli Homilies (1992) xi. 223 Þæt we þurh þæt mægen..wæstmas godra wiorca on þære toweardan worulde gesamnigan, æfter þan þe hit on sealmum awriten is: Qui seminaþ [etc.]. a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 81 (MED) After ðat ðe ðin mildce ys michel, haue ore of mine michele senne. ?c1250 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Egerton) l. 358 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 181 (MED) Sume þer habbet lasse murhðe and sume habbed more, after þan þe hi dude her. a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Gen. xliii. 7 We answerden to hym, sewynglich, after þat, þat he askyde. a1500 Rule Minoresses in W. W. Seton Two 15th Cent. Franciscan Rules (1914) 84 (MED) Sche may haue two cotis or þre or foure, after þat as it schal beste lyke to þe Abbesse. (b) With relative only (that or as). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > order > agreement, harmony, or congruity > conformity to or with a pattern, etc. > in conformity with or according to [phrase] > according as according asa1225 after1587 thereafter as1728 c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) Ded. l. 99 Himm bidde icc þatt het write rihht..All þwerrt ut affterr þatt itt iss. Vpp o þiss firrste bisne. a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 93 Godes temple is ȝerard uppe..after ðat ðe apostel seið: Tempilum dei, quod estis uos. c1330 (?c1300) Speculum Guy (Auch.) (1898) l. 264 (MED) Riht after þat man haþ don, He shal fonge his iugement. c1426 J. Audelay Poems (1931) 17 (MED) Vche person schuld haue his part after þat he had ned. a1450 Lay Folks Mass Bk. (Corpus Oxf.) (1879) l. 8 If a M^l clerkes did noght els, After þat þe boke tels..Ȝitte soulde thay neuere fifte parte. 1460 M. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 259 It is solde ryth well aftyr þat the wole was, for the moste part was ryte febyll. 1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. xiv. 230 After as any of these three powers doe reigne and beare sway. c1600 (?c1395) Pierce Ploughman's Crede (Trin. Cambr. R.3.15) (1873) 732 But after þat his wynnynge is, is his well-fare. b. As a simple conjunction. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > order > agreement, harmony, or congruity > conformity to or with a pattern, etc. > according as [conjunction] afterc1300 c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) l. 2810 (MED) After godrich haues wrouht..Lokes þat ye demen him rith. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 8888 (MED) O quens had he hundrets seuen..Efter þe laghes war in þaa dais. c1440 ( J. Gaytryge Lay Folks' Catech. (Thornton) in G. G. Perry Relig. Pieces in Prose & Verse (1914) 7 Ilke cristene mane awe..to take efter his elde es. 1484 W. Caxton tr. G. de la Tour-Landry Bk. Knight of Tower (1971) xxxix. 63 Bere honoure to euery one after he is worthy. 1634 Malory's Most Anc. Hist. Prince Arthur ii. cviii. sig. Aa3^v Euery knight after hee was of prowesse. Phrases P1. after one's own heart: see heart n. 7. P2. after the flesh: see flesh n. 12. †P3. after the hand: after the event; afterwards. Cf. afterhand adv. Obsolete. ΚΠ a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iv. l. 893 (MED) Bot whanne he hath his cause lore, Thanne is he wys after the hond. 1616 G. Markham tr. C. Estienne et al. Maison Rustique (rev. ed.) v. xxii. 586 This part must be made reasonable stiffe, because the weake paste euer falleth after the hand. P4. a. after you is manners and variants: a polite formula used (frequently humorously or self-consciously) in yielding precedence. Cf. after you at Phrases 4b. Now rare. ΚΠ 1580 A. Saker Narbonus 90 The common saying is: after you is maners. 1650 R. Heath Epigrams 33, in Clarastella Oh! after him is manners. a1652 R. Brome Queen & Concubine iii. vii. 61 in Five New Playes (1659) Cur. Wilt thou be a Scholar? Andr. After you is manners. Cur. Now by mine intellect, discreetly spoken. 1721 J. Kelly Compl. Coll. Scotish Prov. 42 After you is good Manners. Spoken when our Betters offer to serve us first. 1798 J. O'Keeffe Czar Peter iii. ii, in Dramatic Wks. III. 192 Stop, friend! after me is manners. 1849 Southern Cross (Auckland, N.Z.) 16 Oct. ‘Come, then, you begin.’ ‘No, you.’ ‘After you is manners.’ 1899 R. Whiteing No. 5 John St. xiv. 139 I remember the fine-company style of Tildor's tea-party, ‘After you's manners’, whenever we passed the plate. 1922 J. Joyce Ulysses 472 (He stands aside at the threshold.) After you is good manners. b. after you: a polite formula used in yielding precedence; ‘you go first’. Also with with: used to request the next turn with (something). ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > courtesy > courteous act or expression > courteous formulae [phrase] > in yielding precedence after you1734 1734 H. Fielding Don Quixote in Eng. ii. xi. 36 After you, Sir; I am not quite unbred. 1768 O. Goldsmith Good Natur'd Man iii. 37 After you, Sir. 1851 Tait's Edinb. Mag. Oct. 590/1 After you with the paper, if you please, sir. 1898 B. M. Croker Peggy of Bartons xvii. 172 No, no; after you, please—ladies first. 1917 Atlantic Monthly Mar. 408/2 After you with the fire, mate. 1955 E. Pound Classic Anthol. iii. 152 Taught 'em to bow and stand aside, Say: after you, and: if you please. 2005 H. Mantel Beyond Black (2006) ix. 291 They arrived in the utility room at the same time..and stood saying coldly, after you, no, after you. P5. to be after. a. (a) To be trying to get or achieve (something). ΚΠ 1680 W. Petyt Britannia Languens v. 59 The French and Dutch have been after our Wooll since they set up their Woollen Manufactures; why have they and their Agents been lurking on our Coasts..to filch it away for so many years? 1775 R. B. Sheridan Rivals v. ii. 152 What tricks are you after now? 1895 Munsey's Mag. Sept. 581/2 I wonder what he is after? 1936 P. G. Wodehouse Laughing Gas iv. 49 That's all she's after—the title. 2001 K. Sampson Outlaws (2002) 239 I'm after a full ounce of the pure Chanel No. 5 perfume. (b) To be in pursuit of (a person), esp. with hostile intent; to be trying to get into the company of (a person).In quot. 1856: to attend to, keep watch upon (a person). Cf. to look after —— 4a at look v. Phrasal verbs 2, to see after —— 1 at see v. Phrasal verbs 2. ΚΠ 1796 G. Walker Theodore Cyphon (ed. 2) III. ii. 36 I'm after a d—d cunning fellow, who, I believe, is not always above ground. 1856 C. M. Yonge Daisy Chain i. vii. 67 You are a little bit of a sloven, and..some one must be always after you. 1885 ‘P. Cushing’ Woman with Secret III. iii. xi. 226 I'm after a Mr. Montaigne as lives thereabouts. Maybe you could direct me to his place? 1955 J. P. Donleavy Ginger Man xv. 158 A Mr. Skully, a former landlord, is after me for money. 2006 L. Soderlind Chasing Montana 74 Maybe I was after every woman I ever saw. (c) To urge (a person) repeatedly to do something; to nag or harass (a person) about something. ΚΠ 1859 W. B. Fowle Free Speaker 295 Mother and the parson are after me to go to the Sunday-school, but I won't go. 1866 W. M. Baker Inside iv. 29/2 Not a day, not an hour of the day, but his old companions were after him to enlist. 1915 O. M. Shackelforth Lillian Simmons xviii. 179 I have been after him about being so unconcerned about the future and I referred to you as an example. 1984 Times 11 Oct. 2/2 His suppliers will be after him to increase the price he pays for their parts. 2005 L. R. Burge Singing River Story xii. 141 Romy's been after me for years about my old Chevy here, but I know she's a good solid piece of American steelwork. b. Chiefly Irish English. With gerund. [Reflecting a construction of the Irish perfective aspect, which is formed with the verb bí be v. (originally in any tense) and a preposition or prepositional phrase with the sense ‘after’ (originally iar, ar, air ‘after’ (Early Irish íar , ar : see ier-oe n.), since the 18th cent. usually tar éis, d'éis (and variants of these), or i ndiaidh), followed by a verbal noun. In Irish, this scope of this construction narrowed in the course of the 18th and 19th cent. and it is now chiefly used to refer to completed actions in the immediate past; in Scottish Gaelic, by contrast, the construction bi to be + air + verbal noun has come to function as the regular perfect tense (compare also the regular modern Welsh perfect tense formed with bod to be + wedi ‘after’ + verbal noun). The earliest uses of this construction in Irish English refer to future events. In e.g. quot. 1682 at Phrases 5b(b) this corresponds to standard English ‘will have been’ and is within the semantic and grammatical range of the Irish construction at the time; the later narrowing in sense of Phrases 5b(b) to the immediate past mirrors the same development within Irish. The early uses in Phrases 5b(a) probably developed from this (within English), although they are attested slightly earlier. They disappear in parallel with the narrowing of the perfective uses in Irish and Irish English, but are occasionally found later in the speech of stereotypes in works written outside Ireland. Compare discussion in R. Hickey Irish Eng. (2007) 197–208. The construction is found in Irish English and in varieties of English in other parts of the world (especially North America), which were influenced by Irish English. It is also found in the English of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, where it reflects the equivalent construction in Scottish Gaelic.] (a) To be in the act of, on the point of, desirous of (doing something). ΘΚΠ the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > future [preposition] > on the point of on (also upon) the point of1608 to be afterc1670 c1670 Purgatorium Hibernicum (National Libr. Ireland MS 470) in A. Carpenter Verse Travesty in Restoration Ireland (2013) 97 Ffen beggars must be after chooseing. 1715 S. Centlivre Wife well Managed 3 An will you be after giving me the Moidore indeed, and by my Shoul now? 1792 H. H. Brackenridge Mod. Chivalry I. iv. iii. 99 The Irishman..utterly refused to be after fighting in any such manner. 1827 J. Barrington Personal Sketches Own Times I. 208 Then it's fitter..for you to be after putting your sign there in your pocket. a1897 F. B. Lloyd Sketches Country Life (1898) xxi. 138 He was after savin lost souls and was willin to let other men save the country. 1916 J. B. Cooper Coo-oo-ee viii. 93 ‘Gorrah!’ exclaimed Mrs. O'Callaghan. ‘Is he after makin' me drunk?’ (b) To have completed the action of, to have just finished (doing something).In early use frequently with reference to future events (cf. quot. 1682); in later use chiefly retrospective. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > carrying out > execute, perform, or carry out [verb (intransitive)] > have just executed or performed something to be after1682 the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > newness or novelty > recency > [preposition] > after or just (done something) to be after1682 1682 T. Shadwell Lancashire-witches v. 63 When I do go home, I vill be after being absolv'd for it. 1725 Proc. Old Bailey 7 Apr. 7/2 I wash after asking her which Way she wash walking. 1796 Proc. Old Bailey 14 Sept. 781/2 He was after coming from the country. 1828 T. C. Croker Fairy Legends & Trad. S. Ireland II. 74 It is not every lady..that would be after making [sc. would have made] such an offer. 1847 A. Trollope Macdermots II. i. 17 Thank ye, Mr. Kelly, but I am afther taking a little jist now. 1895 J. Barlow Strangers at Lisconnel viii. 169 They were after hangin' a lad up at the jail. 1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. xii. [Cyclops] 288 Sure I'm after seeing him not five minutes ago. ?1930 L. MacInnes Dial. S. Kintyre 16 Dae ye ken whut he's jist efter tellin' me. 1938 P. Kavanagh Green Fool xxv. 260 If it wasn't the turnips it was the pigs were after breaking loose, or a hen they wanted me help catch for the fowl dealer. 1958 B. Behan Borstal Boy i. 125 Well, I was after living through the winter and on the ninth I would be seventeen. 1985 M. Munro Patter 6 Ah'm just after being tae the doctor's. 1997 C. McPherson Weir 40 Sure, you were after getting a terrible shock. P6. after me (also us) the deluge: = après moi le déluge phr. [After French après moi le déluge après moi le déluge phr.] ΚΠ 1755 J. Mills tr. J. B. L. Crevier Hist. Rom. Emperors II. vi. 415 He [sc. Tiberius] had frequently in his mouth a Greek verse, whose sense answers to the expression now in use, to shew an indifference to the human species, After me the deluge [Fr. Après moi le déluge]. 1851 Times 10 Apr. 5/5 ‘After me the deluge,’ said Prince Metternich—a fine saying, but a false prophecy we trust. 1875 E. S. Carr Patrons of Husb. on Pacific Coast iii. 25 Wherever the selfish pursuit of profit, the vile principle ‘After us the Deluge’, has been the ruling motive, the deluge has followed. 1922 R. Hichens December Love i. 53 That noticeable and almost reckless egoism which is summed up by the laconic saying, ‘after me the deluge’. 1979 J. Crosby Party of Year xxv. 162 We are the last survivors..expiring in a shower of expensive sparks. After us, the Deluge. 2008 A. Martin tr. R. F. Monzote From Rainforest to Cane Field in Cuba 272 [He] lamented that the attitude of producers was one of ‘after me the deluge’. P7. after-the-event adj. occurring or performed after a particular event, frequently with the implication of being too late; characterized by retrospectivity. ΚΠ 1872 T. Wright Grainger's Thorn I. i. vii. 188 There was not wanting a number of the after-the-event school of prophets, who..had ‘known what it would all come to’, and had ‘told you so’. 1922 ‘R. Crompton’ More William (1924) iv. 69 ‘We di'n't ought to have set off before dinner,’ said the squire with after-the-event wisdom. 2007 R. E. S. Tanner Violence & Relig. iii. 52 Religion becomes for Christians no more than the subject for after-the-event evaluations. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2011; most recently modified version published online June 2022). > see also also refers to : after-prefix < n.²1906adj.n.¹eOEadv.prep.conj.eOE see also
随便看	unsupportable unsupportableness unsupportably unsupported unsupportedly unsupportedness unsupporting unsupposable unsupposed unsuppressable unsuppressed unsuppressible unsuppurative unsurcharge unsure unsure of oneself unsured unsurely unsureness unsurenesses unsurer unsurest unsurety unsurfaced unsurfeiting

aftern.2

afteradj.n.1

afteradv.prep.conj.

Phrases

> see also

aftern.²

afteradj.n.¹