*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of aft

From Old English æftan (“behind”); possibly originally superlative of of (“off”). See after.

2 source sectionsBrief source recordWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
adj

located at the back of a boat, ship, or airplane

adv

At, near, or towards the stern of a vessel (with the frame of reference within the vessel).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Old English æftan (“behind”); possibly originally superlative of of (“off”). See after.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionæftanang
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "æftan",
        "4": "",
        "5": "behind"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English æftan (“behind”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "æftan",
      "æftan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "of",
      "of#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "after",
      "after#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "located at the back of a boat, ship, or airplane"
      ],
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    },
    {
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        "At, near, or towards the stern of a vessel (with the frame of reference within the vessel)."
      ],
      "tags": [],
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

Alternative form of afternoon: the time of day from noon until early evening.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Clipping of afternoon.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "clipping",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "afternoon"
      },
      "expansion": "Clipping of afternoon"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "afternoon",
      "afternoon#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of afternoon: the time of day from noon until early evening."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative",
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for aft →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-YWZ0