aftermath
noun
called also rowen
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Breaking Down Aftermath
At first glance, one might calculate aftermath to be closely related to mathematics and its cropped form math. But the math of mathematics (which came to English ultimately from Greek) and the math of aftermath grew from different roots. Aftermath dates to the late 1400s and was originally an agricultural term, an offshoot of the ancient word math, meaning “a mowing.” The original aftermath came, of course, after the math: it was historically the crop cut, grazed, or plowed under after the first crop of the season from the same soil. (Math is still used in some parts of the United Kingdom to refer to a mowing of a grass or hay crop, as well as to the crop that is mowed.) It wasn’t until the mid-1600s that aftermath came to have the meanings now familiar to us, referring to the period of time following a destructive event, or to a negative consequence or result.
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Examples of aftermath in a Sentence
Craig Gilbert, Journal Sentinel, 21 Nov. 2024
Behold the current effort by the Big Retail lobby to get politicians and bureaucrats to do their bidding in the aftermath of the 2024 presidential election.
—John Berlau, Forbes, 20 Nov. 2024
But the electric carmaker is not the only company affiliated with a Trump ally that has enjoyed a stock surge in the aftermath of Trump's victory.
—Max Zahn, ABC News, 20 Nov. 2024
The six-episode new season will pick up in the aftermath of Pip (played by Emma Myers) and Ravi Singh (Zain Iqbal) getting to the bottom of what happened to missing student Andie Bell.
—Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 20 Nov. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Aftermath.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aftermath. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
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aftermath
noun
Old English mæth "mowing," from māwan "to mow"
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