Etymology

aftershock

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Today it means: An earthquake that follows in the same vicinity as another, usually larger, earthquake (the "mainshock"). Full definition →

English shock ← Middle English after- ← Old English æfter-
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ep
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂epó
  3. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ep(o)teros
  4. Proto-Germanic*after
  5. Old Englishæfter
  6. Middle Englishafter
  7. Englishafter
  8. Old Englishæfter
  9. Old Englishæfter-
  10. Middle Englishafter-
  11. Englishafter-
  12. Englishshock
  13. English todayaftershock

From after- + shock.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.