Meaning
Following directly behind or, more often today, happening as a consequence of; in the aftermath of. The metaphor is a ship's wake, the trail of disturbed water left behind a vessel, so the phrase carries both sequence and fallout: 'in the wake of the scandal, two directors resigned'. Slightly formal and very common in news writing. Neutral to slightly formal register, ubiquitous in reporting, with a tone of consequence rather than mere sequence. Regional use: General English.
Origin
The noun wake meaning the track left by a moving ship is attested from the 1540s, probably borrowed from Middle Low German, Middle Dutch, or Old Norse words for an opening in the ice, perhaps from the track a vessel cut through it. Etymonline records the general figurative sense of following after something from 1806, and the fixed phrase 'in the wake of' from 1822. Since then it has become a workhorse of journalism, and its centre of gravity has shifted from the spatial sense, literally behind a ship, to the causal sense describing consequences and aftermaths. The unrelated noun wake for a vigil over the dead, and the verb wake meaning to cease sleeping, share ancient Germanic roots but are formally distinct words.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- follow in the wake of
- in his wake
- in something's wake
- in the wake of something
Usage Examples
- Aid convoys poured into the region in the wake of the ceasefire.
- The hurricane left a trail of insurance claims in its wake.
- In the wake of the merger, several departments were quietly reshaped.