take after
take after (phrasal verb)
/ˈteɪk ˌæf.tər/
Meanings
- To look like a parent or family member in appearances, personality, or behavior.
- In other words, it means to resemble a parent or older relative in appearance, personality, or habits.
- To follow the habits, actions, or example of someone else.
Synonyms: resemble; look like; be similar to; follow.
Example Sentences
- She takes after her mother in both kindness and appearance.
- He takes after his father by being hardworking and disciplined.
- The actor O’Shea Jackson Jr. really takes after his father, Ice Cube, both in looks and talent.
Origin and History
The phrasal verb “take after” arose in English through the blending of motion and imitation. The word “take,” from Old and Middle English, originally meant “to seize” or “to grasp,” while “after” denoted pursuit, succession, or following. Together, they first conveyed the sense of physically following or imitating someone’s actions.
Over time, this pairing evolved into a metaphor for inheriting traits, capturing likeness in appearance, temperament, or behavior. The phrase reflects long-standing cultural beliefs in heredity, where children were viewed as “grasping” inherited qualities just as one follows in another’s footsteps. Related constructions like “follow after” appear in earlier texts, but “take after” eventually solidified into the idiom we recognize today.
Historical Development and Cultural Beliefs
From its early usage, “take after” aligned with ideas of inherited traits and family resemblance. In Renaissance and early modern Europe, such beliefs were reinforced by humoral theory, which suggested that children absorbed their parents’ physical and moral essences. The idiom became a natural shorthand for these assumptions, appearing in literature and conversation to affirm family bonds or explain similarities across generations. By the seventeenth century, it had become a familiar part of everyday English, reflecting a broader cultural emphasis on lineage, moral example, and continuity of character. Its endurance shows the human tendency to frame resemblance as both natural and meaningful.
Country of Origin
“Take after” originated in England during the sixteenth century, within the developing vocabulary of Early Modern English. First found in the writings of English authors and circulated through London’s printing houses as well as the scholarly communities of Oxford and Cambridge, the phrase firmly established itself in the national idiom before being carried abroad to American English.
Earliest Printed Record
The earliest known use of “take after” in the modern sense of “resemble” appears in George Hakewill’s theological treatise “An Apologie or Declaration of the Power and Providence of God in the Government of the World,” published in 1627 by Oxford University Press. There, Hakewill writes:
“The children take after the vices of their parents, as if they had received them by immediate infusion from heaven.”
This example illustrates the idiom’s role in describing inherited moral character, marking a clear point of transition from its earlier sense of simple imitation to a more nuanced expression of resemblance.
Contemporary Significance and Legacy
Today, “take after” retains its essential meaning of resemblance, most often within the context of family. Whether in casual speech or literary analysis, the phrase continues to express inherited likeness in appearance, personality, or habits. Its survival across centuries highlights the enduring appeal of idioms that tie language to human experience, making visible the ways we “take” from those before us. Though English has globalized and diversified, “take after” remains firmly rooted in its English origins, a testament to the language’s ability to capture both continuity and individuality in a simple phrase.
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