aftershaft

A1F4T1E1R1S1H4A1F4T1

noun

An accessory plume arising from the posterior of the contour feathers of many birds.

Similar
hypoptilumhypotile
OriginEnglish shaft ← Middle English after- ← Old English æfter- →
Scrabble 19
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Meanings

nounaftershaft (plural aftershafts)

plural aftershafts

  1. biologyAn accessory plume arising from the posterior of the contour feathers of many birds.

    Synonyms: hypoptilum, hypotile

Synonyms & antonyms

nounAn accessory plume arising from the posterior of the contour feathers of many birds.

Similar
hypoptilumhypotile

Origin

  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. Englishshaft
  13. Englishaftershaft

From after- + shaft.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

French hypotile
  • hypotileaccessory plume
Indonesian bulu tambahan
  • bulu tambahanaccessory plume
Japanese 後羽
  • 後羽 (kōu)accessory plume
Tamil பின்புறத்தண்டுத்தூணி
  • பின்புறத்தண்டுத்தூணி (piṉpuṟattaṇṭuttūṇi)accessory plume
Cite this entry
APA

aftershaft. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aftershaft

MLA

“aftershaft.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aftershaft. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “aftershaft,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aftershaft.

Source: aftershaft on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.