Where does “after” come from?
after (Old Dutch) comes from Proto-West Germanic *aftar, from Proto-Germanic after, from Proto-Indo-European h₂epoteros — further behind, further away.
Ancestry of “after”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Proto-West Germanic | *aftar | after, behind |
| 2 | Proto-Germanic | after | after, behind |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂epoteros | further behind, further away |