English
later
Later comes from Middle English later, and goes back to Old English lator.
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English later
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1945, Elizabeth Gidley Withycombe, Introduction: “The eldest son was usually given the name of…”.
Lineage
- Old Englishc. 450–1150latorWiktionary, English later
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500laterWiktionary, English later
- Englishearliest quotation 1945laterWiktionary, English later. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1945, Elizabeth Gidley Withycombe, Introduction: “The eldest son was usually given the name of…”
Formed from late + -er
Proto-Indo-European *leh₁d- ‘to be tired’
…
Proto-Germanic *lataz ‘slow’
Proto-West Germanic *lat ‘slow’
Old English læt ‘slow’
Middle English late ‘slow’
English late
Every English word from Old English lator
Today it means
adv Afterward in time (used with than when comparing with another time).
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “later”. 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 / Old English lator / later