An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/After

by Friedrich Kluge

After, m., ‘buttocks, backside,’ from MidHG. after, OHG. aftaro, m., ‘fundament, anus’; lit. ‘the back part,’ from MidHG. after, OHG. aftar, adj., ‘behind, following’; akin to Goth. aftana, ‘from behind,’ AS. after, E. after (LG. and Du. achter), Goth. aftra, ‘back, again.’ It is certainly allied to Goth. afar, ‘behind,’ and the cognates discussed under aber. — After- in compounds is lit. ‘after,’ whence the idea of ‘counterfeit, baseness’; comp. MidHG. aftersprâche, ‘slander, backbiting,’ afterwort, ‘calumny’; the older meaning, ‘after, behind,’ is preserved in ModHG. Aftermiete, -muse, -rede. Note too Suab. (even in the MidHG. period) aftermontag for ‘Tuesday.’