Aftermaths

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The consequences or outcomes following a significant event, particularly disastrous or violent incidents
2. A period of reflection and change that follows an event, often marked by recovery or adjustment
3. The resultant effects or conditions that emerge after key occurrences, especially in relation to social or emotional ramifications

Etymology: The plural "aftermaths" is simply the plural of "aftermath," so the story belongs to the singular. The original sense was literal: "math" was an Old English word for a mowing, or the cut grass left lying on a field, and an "aftermath" was the second crop of grass that grew up after the first mowing in the same season. Farmers got a further harvest from the same land, so the word described fresh growth coming after a cut. The compound is built from "after," which comes from Old English "æfter," and "math," the mowing itself. Over time the agricultural image broadened into the figurative sense of consequences or results that follow a disruptive event, and the reflective, adjusting sense of the modern meaning grew from that.

Synonyms: consequences, results, outcomes, repercussions, fallouts

Antonyms: causes, origins