aback

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Contents

English [edit]

Pronunciation [edit]

Etymology 1 [edit]

  • From Middle English abak, from Old English on (at, on, or toward) + bæc (back).
  • a- (towards) +‎ back (back).

Adverb [edit]

aback (not comparable)

  1. (archaic) Towards the back or rear; backwards. [First attested prior to 1150.][1]
  2. (archaic) In the rear; a distance behind. [First attested prior to 1150.][1]
  3. By surprise; startled; dumbfounded.
  4. (nautical) Backward against the mast; said of the sails when pressed by the wind from the "wrong" (forward) side, or of a ship when its sails are set that way. [First attested in the late 17th century.][1]
    By setting the foresail aback and the headsail in the middle one can bring a fore-and-aft rigged sailing boat practically to a halt even in heavy wind.
Usage notes [edit]
  • (by surprise): Preceded by a form of the word take.
Translations [edit]
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See also [edit]

Etymology 2 [edit]

From abacus

Noun [edit]

aback (plural abacks)

  1. (obsolete) An abacus.
Translations [edit]

References [edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 2003 [1933], Brown, Lesley editor, The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, edition 5th, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-860575-7, page 2: