Which of these defines the Latin root post?

The Latin root post means “after.” It can also carry the related sense “behind” or “later,” but “after” is the standard answer in English-root quizzes.

Latin post was used as a preposition meaning “after” or “behind,” and English inherited it mainly through Latin-derived vocabulary. As the prefix post-, it places one event, period, or condition later than another: postwar means “after a war,” and postoperative means “after an operation.”

The root appears in familiar terms such as postscript, literally something written after the main text; postmortem, “after death”; and post meridiem, abbreviated p.m., meaning “after midday.” In posterior, it suggests something situated behind or farther back.

A common mix-up is confusing Latin post with the unrelated English noun post, meaning a pole, position, or mailed item. The meanings look identical in spelling but come from different historical sources. The opposite Latin prefix is pre-, meaning “before,” as in prewar and prenatal.