'after-Communion' originates from English, combining 'after' (Old English 'æfter') and 'Communion' from Latin 'communio', where 'communis' meant 'common' or 'shared'.

'after' derives from Old English 'æfter'; 'Communion' entered English via Church Latin/Old French from Latin 'communio' meaning 'sharing, fellowship', and the modern compound 'after-Communion' developed in English usage to denote things following the Eucharistic service.

Initially, 'communio' (and later 'Communion') broadly meant 'sharing' or 'fellowship'; with later ecclesiastical usage it came to denote the Eucharist specifically, and 'after-Communion' evolved to mean 'occurring after the Eucharist' rather than merely 'after a general sharing'.