Definition of AFTERMATH

Breaking Down Aftermath

Aftermath dates to the late 1400s and was originally an agricultural term. Its two parts are transparent—but only if you're familiar with an ancient word math that is now used only in British dialectal English and that means "a mowing of a grass or hay crop" and also refers to the crop that is gathered. The original aftermath came, of course, after the math: it was historically the crop of (usually) grass cut, grazed, or plowed under after the first crop of the season from the same soil. It wasn't until the mid-late 1600s that aftermath developed its other meanings, both of which are now far more common than the first.

Examples of aftermath in a Sentence

the surgery was successful, but she now had to deal with its aftermath: a huge bill

Recent Examples on the Web

In the book, Mr. McCabe sheds new light on his role in the aftermath of Mr. Comey’s firing as well as his brief supervision of the FBI investigation into whether any Trump campaign officials colluded with agents of Russia. — Aruna Viswanatha, WSJ, "Ex-FBI Official McCabe Says He Approved Trump Probe After James Comey Firing," 14 Feb. 2019 The war in Afghanistan began in October 2001, in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. — Christopher Rugaber, The Seattle Times, "AP FACT CHECK: Trump’s speech exaggerates border peril," 6 Feb. 2019 And as Puerto Rico reeled in the devastated aftermath of Hurricane Maria, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons began evacuating inmates from its easternmost facility in Rio Grande due to sustained power outages. — German Lopez, Vox, "South Carolina won’t evacuate a prison in Hurricane Florence’s path," 12 Sep. 2018 Maybe a crime, a discrete event, makes for an easier narrative than its wending aftermath; maybe thinking about the unhappy unspooling of years in the life of a survivor is more than Hollywood really wishes to deal with at length. — Daniel D'addario, Time, "HBO’s The Tale Grapples With Shifting Perspectives on Abuse and Trauma," 22 May 2018 In the aftermath of the 2016 US election, Zuckerberg has long said fixing the platform is a three-year project. — Casey Newton, The Verge, "The Verge 2018 tech report card: Facebook," 26 Dec. 2018 In the aftermath of a New York Times story that meticulously revealed Facebook’s cloddish response to the disinformation and hacking campaigns around the 2016 election, the company is battling renewed criticism from Washington, D.C. — Theodore Schleifer, Recode, "Facebook takes on new political heat after its internal problems are exposed," 15 Nov. 2018 That vision of traditional American values was important in a period marked by social upheaval due to the aftermath of the Civil War, the evolution of industries driving the economy, and the influx of immigrants from a troubled Europe. — Maggie Burch, House Beautiful, "Everything You Need To Know About Colonial Revival Design," 19 Nov. 2018 In response to the aftermath of recent Olympics, the IOC has scaled back from promoting the myth of the Olympics as a transformational event that can reshape a city. — Patrick Sisson, Curbed, "Olympics try more city-friendly bid process: Will it work?," 8 Oct. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'aftermath.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for aftermath

after- + math "mowing," going back to Middle English *math, going back to a short-vowel variant (perhaps of Germanic date) of Old English mǣþ, going back to Germanic *mēþa- (whence Old Saxon mād- —in māddag "mowing day"—, Old High German āmād "aftermath"), derivative with the nominal suffix *-to- from the base of *mēan- "to mow entry 2"

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