Link Centre Dictionary

aback

UK/əˈbæk/ US/əˈbæk/ uncommon archaic obsolete

adverb

1.

having the wind against the forward side of the sails

  • “the ship came up into the wind with all yards aback”
2.

by surprise

  • “taken aback by the caustic remarks”

Origin

From Middle English abak, from Old English onbæc, equivalent to a- (“towards”) + back. Compare West Frisian tebek (“aback”, adverb, literally “to/at back”), Swedish tillbaka (idem.).

Phrases

  • aback of

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.