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aback definition

aback (ə bak′)

adverb

  1. Archaic backward; back
  2. Naut. backward against the mast, as the sails of a square-rigged vessel in a wind from straight ahead

Etymology: OE on bæc, at or on the back

aback Idioms

taken aback

  1. Naut. in an unmanageable condition, as because of a sudden shift of wind to the opposite side of the sails
  2. startled and confused

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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