aback
/əˈbæk/ · adverb
Meaning
- Towards the back or rear; backwards.
- In the rear; a distance behind.
- By surprise; startled; dumbfounded. (see usage)
- 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.
- An abacus.
Etymology / origin
No prose etymology has been added yet.
No ancestor words have been linked yet.
Related words
Descendant words
No descendant words have been linked yet.