aftermath

af·ter·math

Use aftermath in a sentence

noun

The definition of an aftermath is the consequence of a situation, often one that is destructive.

An example of an aftermath is the flattening of buildings and destruction of infrastructure after an earthquake.

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"Aftermath." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/Aftermath.

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Aftermath. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Aftermath

aftermath

a second crop, as of grass, that grows after an earlier mowing
a consequence of, or a state of affairs resulting from, something, esp. something destructive or unpleasant

Origin of aftermath

after + obsolete math, cutting of grass from Old English mæth from m?wan, to mow, with -th suffix

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MLA Style

"Aftermath." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/Aftermath.

APA Style

Aftermath. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Aftermath

aftermath

noun

A consequence, especially of a disaster or misfortune: famine as an aftermath of drought.
A period of time following a disastrous event: in the aftermath of war.
A second growth or crop in the same season, as of grass after mowing.

Origin of aftermath

after obsolete math mowing ( from Old English mǣth ; see mē-⁴ in Indo-European roots.)

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"Aftermath." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/Aftermath.

APA Style

Aftermath. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Aftermath

Noun

(plural aftermaths)

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.

Origin

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.