Afters

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A subsequent part of a sequence, often indicating events or circumstances that follow a specific time or action, especially in an informal context
2. A word used to describe later moments or occurrences that come after a main event, frequently seen in conversational or narrative descriptions
3. Pertaining to events or situations occurring subsequent to a reference point, commonly employed in casual dialogue or storytelling contexts

Etymology: Afters is the informal British word for pudding, the sweet course served after the main meal. Its root is the ordinary English preposition "after," which goes back through Old English "æfter" to a Proto-Germanic form with the basic sense of "behind" or "later." The word is a plain piece of everyday English, so there is little more to trace beyond that. The ending "-s" is the interesting part. It is a hypocoristic suffix, a diminutive-style addition that makes a word sound familiar and affectionate. English speakers added it to many short words, such as "bikes" or "brekkers" for breakfast in other slang, and "afters" follows the same pattern. The suffix itself traces back through Germanic plural and diminutive endings, but in "afters" it is simply a playful clipping habit rather than a plural.

Synonyms: desserts, sweets

Antonyms: appetizers