aftermath

English

The aftermath of a storm and flood.

Etymology

From after- +‎ math (“a mowing”), from Old English mæþ (“a mowing”), from Proto-Germanic *madą, *maþō, *maþwō, *mēdō (“a mowing”), from Proto-Indo-European *(a)mē- (“to mow”). Cognate with Dutch made, mad (“area of ground cleared by a sickle”), German Mahd (“mowing”). Related to Old English māwan (“to mow”). See mow, meadow.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈæf.tɚˌmæθ/, IPA: /ˈɑːf.tɚˌmæθ/, IPA: /ˈɑːf.tɚˌmɑːθ/

• Audio (US)

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Noun

aftermath (plural aftermaths)

1. (obsolete), or farmers' jargon: A second mowing; the grass which grows after the first crop of hay in the same season.
2. Hence; that which happens after, that which follows. Has a strongly negative connotation in most contexts, implying a preceding catastrophe.

   In contrast to most projections of the aftermath of nuclear war, in this there is no rioting or looting.

Related terms

• beforemath

Translations

a second mowing

• French: regain (fr) m
• Russian: второй покос (ru) (vtorój pokós) m

• Slovene: otava (sl) f

that which happens after, that which follows

• Dutch: nasleep (nl) m
• Finnish: jälkivaikutus, jälkiseuraus
• German: Nachwirkung (de) f, Folge (de) f
• Greek: συνέπεια (el) (synépeia) f, επακόλουθο (el) (epakóloutho) n
• Hungarian: következmény (hu), utóhatás (hu)

• Italian: conseguenze (it) f
• Russian: последствие (ru) (poslédstvije) n
• Spanish: consecuencias (es) f pl, resultados (es) m pl
• Turkish: ardından (tr), sonrasında (tr)