Later
/ˈleɪ.tər/noun
At a time following the present or a previously mentioned time.
Did you know?“Later” comes from the same Indo-European root as Latin *latus* (“broad, wide”) and English *broad*, so the word’s deep history is about “wider” distance — eventually stretched into time.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*plat-
“to spread, be flat, broad”
Latin
Latin
latus
“broad, wide”
Late Latin
Latin
laterālis
“of the side”
Old French
Old French
later
“comparative form meaning more distant or farther”
Middle English
English
later
“at a subsequent time; after”