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aftermath

 - 3 dictionary results

af⋅ter⋅math

  [af-ter-math, ahf-]
Use aftermath in a Sentence
–noun
1. something that results or follows from an event, esp. one of a disastrous or unfortunate nature; consequence: the aftermath of war; the aftermath of the flood.
2. a new growth of grass following one or more mowings, which may be grazed, mowed, or plowed under.
Origin:
1515–25; after + math a mowing, OE mǣth; c. OHG mād (G Mahd); akin to mow 1

Synonyms:
1. outcome, result, upshot.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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af·ter·math   (āf'tər-māth')   
n.  

  1. A consequence, especially of a disaster or misfortune: famine as an aftermath of drought.

  2. A period of time following a disastrous event: in the aftermath of war.

  3. A second growth or crop in the same season, as of grass after mowing.


[after + obsolete math, mowing (from Old English mǣth; see mē-4 in Indo-European roots).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

aftermath 
1523, originally a second crop of grass grown after the first had been harvested. The -math is dialectal, from O.E. mæð "mowing," from P.Gmc. *mæthan. Figurative sense is from mid-17c.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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