WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : A*back"
Part of Speech : adv.
Etymology : [Pref. a- + back; AS. on b?c at, on, or toward the back. See Back.]
Definition : 1. Toward the back or rear; backward. "Therewith aback she started." Chaucer.

2. Behind; in the rear. Knolles.

3. (Naut.)

Defn: 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.


Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : Ab"ack
Part of Speech : n.
Definition : Defn: An abacus. [Obs.] B. Jonson.


Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913