later

See also: Later and låter

English

Etymology

• Adverb: From Middle English later, latere, from Old English lator, equivalent to late +‎ -er.
• Adjective: From Middle English later, latere, from Old English lætra, equivalent to late +‎ -er.

Cognate with Saterland Frisian leeter (“later”), West Frisian letter (“later”), Dutch later (“later”), German Low German later (“later”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈleɪtə/
• (US) enPR: lāʹtər, IPA^(key): /ˈleɪtɚ/, [ˈleɪ̯ɾɚ]

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪtə(ɹ)

Adverb

later

1. comparative form of late: more late

   You came in late yesterday and today you came in even later.

2. Afterward in time (used with than when comparing with another time).

   My roommate arrived first. I arrived later.

   I arrived later than my roommate.

3. At some unspecified time in the future.

   I wanted to do it now, but I’ll have to do it later.

Synonyms

• (afterward in time): afterwards, hereafter; see also Thesaurus:subsequently
• (at some unspecified time in the future): later on, someday; see also Thesaurus:one day

Antonyms

• earlier
• (antonym(s) of “At some unspecified time in the future”): once

Derived terms

• catch you later
• I kill you later
• no later than
• see you later alligator
• shoot first and ask questions later
• smell ya later, smell you later
• sooner rather than later
• sooner than later
• to be named later

Translations

more late

• Arabic: فِيمَا بَعْد (fīmā baʕd)

  Egyptian Arabic: بعدين (baʕdēn)

  Gulf Arabic: بعدين (ar) (baʕdēn)

  Hijazi Arabic: بعدين (baʕdēn)

  South Levantine Arabic: بعدين (baʕdēn)

• Assamese: পিছত (pisot)
• Bikol Central: atyan
• Bulgarian: по́-къ́сно (bg) (pó-kǎ́sno)
• Chickasaw: alhchimbakma
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 遲啲 / 迟啲 (yue) (ci⁴ di¹)

  Mandarin: 更遲 / 更迟 (zh) (gèng chí)

• Czech: později (cs)
• Danish: senere (da)
• Dutch: later (nl)
• Esperanto: pli malfrue
• Estonian: hiljem
• Finnish: myöhemmin (fi)
• French: plus en retard
• Galician: máis tarde
• German: später (de)
• Hebrew: יוֹתֵר מְאֻחָר (yotér m'ukhár)
• Hindi: बाद में (hi) (bād mẽ)
• Italian: più in ritardo
• Japanese: 後に (ja) (あとに, ato ni)
• Korean: 후에 (ko) (hue), 후 (ko) (hu)
• Ladino: mas tadre
• Latin: sētius
• Latvian: vēlāk
• Macedonian: подоцна (podocna), покасно (pokasno)
• Norwegian: senere (no)
• Persian: دیرتر (fa) (dirtar)
• Polish: później (pl)
• Portuguese: mais atrasado
• Romanian: mai târziu
• Russian: по́зже (ru) (pózže), поздне́е (ru) (pozdnéje)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: касније

  Roman: kasnije (sh)

• Spanish: más tarde
• Swedish: senare (sv)
• Tagalog: mamaya
• Tok Pisin: bihain
• Ukrainian: пізні́ше (uk) (pizníše)
• Urdu: بعد میں (bād mẽ)

afterward in time

• Arabic: لَاحِقًا (lāḥiqan)

  Egyptian: بعدين (baʕdēn)

  Hijazi Arabic: بعدين (baʕdēn)

  South Levantine Arabic: بعدين (baʕdēn)

• Armenian: ավելի ուշ (aveli uš), հետո (hy) (heto)
• Bikol Central: atyan
• Bislama: bihaen
• Bulgarian: по-късно (bg) (po-kǎsno)
• Catalan: després (ca)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 之後 / 之后 (zi¹ hau⁶), 遲過 / 迟过 (ci⁴ gwo³) (later than)

  Hokkien: 後頭 / 后头 (āu-thâu / ǎu-thâu), 後來 / 后来 (zh-min-nan) (āu-lâi / ǎu-lâi / āu--lâi), 較停 / 较停 (khà-thêng / khah-thêng), 較停仔 / 较停仔 (zh-min-nan) (khah-thêng-á / khà-thêng-á), 較停仔 / 较停仔 (zh-min-nan) (khah-thêng-á / khà-thêng-á), 等咧 (zh-min-nan) (tán--leh / tán--e)

  Mandarin: 以後 / 以后 (zh) (yǐhòu), 後面 / 后面 (zh) (hòumian)

• Czech: pozdější (cs)
• Danish: senere (da)
• Dutch: later (nl)
• Esperanto: poste (eo)
• Estonian: hiljem
• Finnish: myöhemmin (fi)
• French: plus tard
• Galician: despois (gl), logo
• Georgian: შემდეგ (šemdeg), შემდეგში (šemdegši)
• German: später (de), nachher (de)
• Gothic: 𐌱𐌹𐌸𐌴 (biþē)
• Greek: αργότερα (el) (argótera)

  Ancient: ὑστέρως (hustérōs)

• Hebrew: יוֹתֵר מְאֻחָר (yotér m'ukhár)
• Italian: più tardi, dopo (it)
• Japanese: 後で (あとで, ato de)
• Kazakh: кейінірек (keiınırek)
• Korean: 나중에 (ko) (najung'e)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: دوایی (dwayî)

• Latin: sētius
• Latvian: vēlāk
• Manchu: ᠠᠮᠠᠯᠠ (amala), ᠮᠠᠩᡤᡳ (manggi)
• Maori: auina iho
• Norman: pus tard (Guernsey)
• Persian: دیرتر (fa) (dirtar)
• Polish: później (pl)
• Portuguese: depois (pt)
• Romanian: mai târziu
• Russian: по́зже (ru) (pózže), по́сле (ru) (pósle), пото́м (ru) (potóm)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: после

  Roman: posle (sh), docnije (sh), potom (sh), poslije (sh), kasnije (sh)

• Spanish: más tarde, después (es)
• Swahili: baadaye (sw)
• Swedish: senare (sv)
• Tagalog: mamaya
• Telugu: ఆలస్యము (te) (ālasyamu)
• Turkish: sonra (tr)
• Ukrainian: пізні́ше (uk) (pizníše)
• Vietnamese: sau (vi) (𢖕)

at some unspecified time in the future

• Arabic: فِيمَا بَعْد (fī-mā baʕd), فِيمَا بَعْدُ (fī-mā baʕdu)

  Egyptian: بعدين (baʕdēn)

  South Levantine Arabic: بعدين (baʕdēn)

• Bulgarian: по́сле (bg) (pósle), по́-ната́тък (bg) (pó-natátǎk)
• Catalan: posteriorment (ca)
• Chickasaw: alhchimbakma
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 陣間 / 阵间 (zan⁶ gaan¹)

• Dutch: later (nl)
• Finnish: myöhemmin (fi)
• French: plus tard (fr)
• Hebrew: יוֹתֵר מְאֻחָר (yotér m'ukhár)
• Hungarian: majd (hu)
• Italian: più tardi
• Kazakh: кейін (kk) (keiın)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: دوایی (dwayî)

• Malay: nanti
• Ngazidja Comorian: halafu
• Norman: pus tard (Guernsey)
• Persian: بعداً (fa) (ba'dan), بعدتر (ba'dtar)
• Polish: później (pl)
• Portuguese: mais tarde
• Romanian: mai târziu
• Russian: по́зже (ru) (pózže), пото́м (ru) (potóm)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: после

  Roman: posle (sh), potom (sh), poslije (sh), kasnije (sh)

• Spanish: posteriormente (es)
• Swahili: baadaye (sw)
• Swedish: senare (sv)
• Telugu: తరవాత (te) (taravāta)

Adjective

later

1. comparative form of late: more late

   Jim was later than John.

2. Coming afterward in time (used with than when comparing with another time).

   The Victorian era is a later period of English history than the Elizabethan era.

3. Coming afterward in distance (following an antecedent distance as embedded within an adverbial phrase)

   I felt some leg pain during the first mile of my run and I strained my calf two miles later.

4. At some time in the future.

   The meeting was adjourned to a later date.

Antonyms

• earlier

Translations

more late

• Bulgarian: по-късен (po-kǎsen)
• Finnish: myöhempi (fi)
• French: plus en retard
• Hungarian: később (hu)
• Italian: più in ritardo
• Polish: późniejszy
• Portuguese: mais tarde
• Spanish: más tarde
• Swedish: senare (sv)

coming afterward in time

• Bulgarian: по-късен (po-kǎsen)
• Finnish: myöhempi (fi)
• French: postérieur (fr)
• Greek:

  Ancient Greek: ὕστερος (hústeros)

• Italian: posteriore (it)
• Polish: późniejszy
• Portuguese: subsequentemente, posterior (pt)
• Spanish: posterior (es)

at some time in the future

• Catalan: futur (ca)
• Esperanto: posta (eo)
• Finnish: myöhempi (fi)
• Polish: późniejszy
• Portuguese: mais atrasado
• Spanish: posterior (es)

Interjection

later

1. (slang) See you later; goodbye.

   Later, dude.

Derived terms

• later days
• later on
• laterward
• laterwards
• save for later
• sooner or later

Translations

see you later

• Bulgarian: довиждане (bg) (doviždane)
• Catalan: fins aviat
• Dutch: later (nl)
• Finnish: nähdään (fi), katsellaan myöhemmin
• French: à plus (fr)
• German: bis bald (de)
• Icelandic: heyrumst, sjáumst (is)
• Polish: nara (pl)
• Portuguese: até mais (pt) (Brazil), falou (pt) (Brazil, colloquial), até logo (pt)
• Spanish: hasta luego (es)

Anagrams

• Alert, alert, alter, alter-, altre, artel, ratel, taler, telar

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlaː.tər/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aːtər

Adjective

later

1. comparative degree of laat
2. having to do with or occurring in the future

Declension

Declension of later
uninflected	later
inflected	latere
comparative	—
		positive
predicative/adverbial		later
indefinite	m./f. sing.	latere
	n. sing.	later
	plural	latere
definite		latere
partitive		laters

Antonyms

• eerder
• vroeger

Adverb

later

1. later
2. in the future

Antonyms

• eerder

Interjection

later

1. bye, later

   Synonyms: dag, doei, doeg, houdoe, tabee, vaarwel

Anagrams

• alert, ratel

Latin

Etymology

Possibly from Proto-Indo-European *pleth₂- (“flat”), or from *stelh₃- (“broad”) (in which case latus (“side, flank”) would be its neuter form).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈla.ter/, [ˈɫ̪ät̪ɛr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈla.ter/, [ˈläːt̪er]

Noun

later m (genitive lateris); third declension

1. brick, tile
2. ingot, bar (of precious metal)

Declension

Third-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	later	laterēs
genitive	lateris	laterum
dative	laterī	lateribus
accusative	laterem	laterēs
ablative	latere	lateribus
vocative	later	laterēs

Derived terms

• laterīcius
• laterculum
• laterculus

References

• “later”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “later”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• later in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• “later”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper’s Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “later”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin
• Pokorny, Julius (1959) Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), Bern, München: Francke Verlag

Mauritian Creole

Etymology

From French terre.

Noun

later

1. land, earth, soil

Norwegian Bokmål

Verb

later

1. present of late

Old Swedish

Etymology 1

From Old Norse latr, from Proto-Germanic *lataz.

Adjective

later

1. lazy, sluggish

Declension

Declension of later (strong)

singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	later	lat	lat
accusative	latan	lata	lat
dative	latum latom	latri latre	latu lato
genitive	lats	latrar	lats
plural	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	latir later	latar	lat
accusative	lata	latar	lat
dative	latum latom	latum latom	latum latom
genitive	latra lata	latra lata	latra lata

Declension of later (weak)

singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	lati late	lata	lata
accusative	lata	latu lato	lata
dative	lata	latu lato	lata
genitive	lata	latu lato	lata
plural	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	latu lato	latu lato	latu lato
accusative	latu lato	latu lato	latu lato
dative	latu lato	latu lato	latu lato
genitive	latu lato	latu lato	latu lato

Descendants

• Swedish: lat

Etymology 2

Verb

later

1. first/second/third-person singular present active indicative of lata

Seychellois Creole

Etymology

From French terre.

Noun

later

1. land, earth, soil

Swedish

Noun

later

1. indefinite plural of lat

Anagrams

• alert, artel, letar, realt