Arter

Part of speech: preposition, conjunction

Definitions

1. A dialect spelling of the word meaning following in time or position, used to mark what comes later than something else
2. An older regional variant of after, indicating that something happens subsequent to a previous event or behind a point in sequence
3. A nonstandard form of the preposition after, expressing a later time or a position coming behind something

Etymology: "Arter" is a dialect and informal spelling of "after," heard in parts of England, especially in working-class and regional speech, as in "arter all" or "arter you." Its sound comes from dropping the "f" and the unstressed final vowel that standard speech keeps. The standard word has an older and more transparent structure. "After" comes from Old English "æfter," a comparative form built on the same root as "of" and "off," so its original sense was roughly "further away" or "more from." Over centuries the sense moved from physical distance to time, which is why "after" now means "later than." "Arter" preserves the same comparative ending in a shortened, spoken form.