aback

aback is defined in Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1913) with 3 senses, and appears in Roget's Thesaurus (1911) with 40 related terms. The full text of each entry is reproduced verbatim below.

Definitions

  1. 1.Behind; in the rear. Knolles.
  2. 2.(Naut.) Backward against the mast;-said of the sails when pressed by the wind. Totten. To be taken aback. (a) To be driven backward against the mast; -- said of the sails, also of the ship when the sails are thus driven. (b) To be suddenly checked, baffled, or discomfited. Dickens.
  3. 3.An abacus. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

Synonyms

Related questions

Sources

  • Definitions: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
  • Synonyms & antonyms: Roget's Thesaurus, 1911 edition (public domain, via Project Gutenberg eBook #10681).
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