aback
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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)
- (archaic) Towards the back or rear; backwards. [First attested prior to 1150.][1]
- (Can we date this quote?), Geoffrey Chaucer
- Therewith aback she started.
- (Can we date this quote?), Geoffrey Chaucer
- (archaic) In the rear; a distance behind. [First attested prior to 1150.][1]
- By surprise; startled; dumbfounded.
- (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]
backwards
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in the rear
said of sails pressed backward
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Translations to be checked
See also [edit]
Etymology 2 [edit]
From abacus
Noun [edit]
aback (plural abacks)
Translations [edit]
abacus — see abacus
References [edit]
- ↑ 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:
