Etymograph

English

after

After comes from Old English æfter, from Proto-Germanic *after ‘after, behind’, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epoteros ‘further behind’, and ultimately from *h₂epó ‘off, away’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂epó1‘off, away’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂epoteros1‘further behind, further away’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*after1‘after, behind’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*aftar1reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150æfter1‘after’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500after1
  7. Englishearliest quotation a. 1627after1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English after
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: a. 1627, Francis Bacon, Considerations Touching a Warre with Spaine. […]: “He takes greatness of kingdoms according to bulk and…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂epóWiktionary, English after‘off, away’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂epoterosWiktionary, English after‘further behind, further away’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*afterWiktionary, English after‘after, behind’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*aftarWiktionary, English afterreconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150æfterWiktionary, English after‘after’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500afterWiktionary, English after
  7. Englishearliest quotation a. 1627afterWiktionary, English after. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: a. 1627, Francis Bacon, Considerations Touching a Warre with Spaine. […]: “He takes greatness of kingdoms according to bulk and…”

A compound of *h₂ep + *h₂epó ‘off, away’

Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep

Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep

Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó ‘off, away’

The story

The Irish usage to indicate recent completion of an activity is a calque of the Irish collocation Táim tar éis... (“I have just...”, literally “I am after...”).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

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Today it means

adv Behind; later in time; following.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “after”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó / after