aften

[Different spelling of OFTEN (q.v.). Often. ( Scotch.) "Aften I have young sportive gilpies seen." Ramsay: Poems, i. 322. af-tër, *af-tir, * af-tyr, prep ., adv ., adj ., s., v., & in compos. [Properly the comparative of aft . From A.S. æfter after, next, second, new, last. In Sw. efter; O. Sw. after; Dan. efter & agter; Dut. agters ; Goth. aftra .] A. As preposition : I. Of place: Behind, as opposed to before. 1. Placed behind. "Sometimes I placed a third prism after a second, and sometimes also a fourth after a third; by all which the image might be often refracted sideways, "Newton: Opticks . 2. Following in place. (Used of persons or things in motion.) (a) In a general sense: "So Samuel turned again after Saul."-1 Sam. xv. 31. (b) Spec. In pursuit of. " After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea,-1 Sam . xxiv. 14. II. Of time : Subsequent to, posterior to in time or in date. "And it came to pa on the second Sabbath after the first ."- Luke vi. L "A uredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead."1 Kings 1. 30. III. Figuratively: 1. According to. (a) As far as relates to, in relation to. "Of the sons of I achar after their families..." Numb . xxvi. 23. (b) In conformity with a model; in imitation of; as influenced by. all the silver ve els weighed two you sand and four hundred shekels, after the shekel of the Banctuary."- Numb . vii. 85. "This allusion is after the Oriental manner: thus in the Psalms how frequently are persons compared to cedars."-Pope: Homer's Ody ey, Notes. 2. Later than in time; inferior to in nature or in dignity. "And in this Trinity none is afore or after other."A than asian Creed. 3. Colloquially : Respecting, regarding, as "He asked after you." After all, adv. When everything has been taken into account; when everything has been revealed; when everything has been done, when there remains nothing more to be added at last; in fine, in conclusion, upon the whole, at most. "But after all, if they have any merit, it is to be attributed to some good old authors, whose works 1 study."-Pope on Pastoral Poetry. After ane, adv. ( Scotch .) ( Lit. = after one.) Alike. (Jamie son.) "A' my time that's yet bygane She's fixt my lot maist after ane." B. As adverb: Cocks: Simple Strains , p. 69. 11. Behind in place; following another. "Let go thy hold when a great wheel runs down a hill, lest it break thy neck with following it; but the great oue that goes upward, let him draw thee after ." -Shakesp. King Lear , ii. 4. 2. Later in time, afterwards. "And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after ." Heb . iii. 5. C. As adjective: 1. Behind in place. (a) Generally: As in the expre ion, "the after-part of anything." (b) Naut.: Pertaining to what is more aft, Le. further towards the stern of the ve el. 2. Subsequent in point of time. In these two senses often connected by a hyphen with the substantive which follows it, so as to form a compound word. (See F.) D. t As substantive: "Religion, Providence, an after's tale." E. + As verb: Young: Night Thoughts, 4. Colloquially: To follow, as "after them," e. "follow them." In all such cases there is, no doubt, originally an ellipse of some such verb as go , after still remaining really a preposition. [Cf. ON.] "I'll after him, and see the event of this," Shakesp.: Taming of the Shrew , 111. 2. F. In composition . When constituting the first part of a compound word it is often an adjective, meaning subsequent , and the word of which it constitutes a part may be a substantive, a verb, a participle, or an adjective. aften-after-eye