In an age where AI and Donald Trump have left many doubting the truth, US dictionary Merriam-Webster has revealed 2023’s most looked-up word. Photo: Pexels
Word of the day: Aftermath
Expand your vocabulary with The South African’s word of the day. Each day The South African offers you an opportunity to learn new words.
In an age where AI and Donald Trump have left many doubting the truth, US dictionary Merriam-Webster has revealed 2023’s most looked-up word. Photo: Pexels
Learn some of the most interesting English words from The South African’s WORD OF THE DAY!
If you are a wordsmith or want to learn a new word to impress that special someone, this content is for you!
Today’s word of the day is:
Aftermath
Aftermath refers to the period of time shortly following a destructive event, or to a negative consequence or result.
Pronunciation: [AF-ter-math]
At first glance, one might calculate aftermath to be closely related to mathematics and its cropped form of math. But the math of mathematics (which came to English ultimately from Greek) and the math of aftermath grew from different roots. Aftermath dates to the late 1400s and was originally an agricultural term, an offshoot of the ancient word math, meaning “a mowing.” The original aftermath came, of course, after the math: it was historically the crop cut, grazed, or plowed under after the first crop of the season from the same soil.
Example: It was almost noon before I felt ready to clean up the mess that remained in the aftermath of the previous night’s festivities.
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