afternoon

A1 Topic:Time

US /ˌæf.tɚˈnun/ UK /ˌɑːf.təˈnuːn/ See IPA manual

Freq #911

Meanings

1

noun
The part of the day between noon and the evening.

I spent a quiet afternoon in the park.
2

intj
A short way of saying "good afternoon" as a greeting.

"Afternoon!" he called as he passed by.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 intj · a short way of saying "good... good afternoon

More aftarvoundern undertime

Opposites

morning

Word family

Forms afternoons

Derived forms aftafternoonerafternoonisharvocrafternoonmidafternoonpreafternoon

Related forms dawn dusk evening forenoon midday midnight nightpostdawn

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

afternoon tea
a light meal of tea with small sandwiches or cakes served in the afternoon

Noun + noun

Etymology

From Middle English afternone, after-non, equivalent to after- + noon.

afternone Middle English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Time

External links

# afternoon

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** noun, intj
**IPA (US):** /ˌæf.tɚˈnun/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌɑːf.təˈnuːn/
**Frequency rank:** 911

## Meanings
1. The part of the day between noon and the evening.
2. A short way of saying "good afternoon" as a greeting.

## Examples
- I spent a quiet afternoon in the park.
- "Afternoon!" he called as he passed by.

## Synonyms
- aft
- arvo
- undern
- undertime

## Antonyms
- morning

## Derived Forms
- aft
- afternooner
- afternoonish
- arvo
- crafternoon
- midafternoon
- preafternoon

## Related Forms
- dawn
- dusk
- evening
- forenoon
- midday
- midnight
- night
- postdawn

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: afternone

## Etymology
From Middle English afternone, after-non, equivalent to after- + noon.

## AI Etymology
Afternoon is from Middle English afternone, after-non, equivalent to after- plus noon. The formation is semantically transparent: the parts remain visible, while the compound or affix fixes the grammatical role and narrows the modern meaning. In use as a noun and an intj, afternoon denotes the part of the day between noon and the evening and a short way of saying "good afternoon" as a greeting. The same word family continues in derived forms such as aft, afternooner, afternoonish, and arvo and related entries such as dawn, dusk, evening, and forenoon.

## Topics
- Time

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