aback

Meanings

Adverb

• 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.

Noun

• An abacus.

Origin

• From Middle English abak, from Old English onbæc, equivalent to a- + back. Compare West Frisian tebek ("aback"), Swedish tillbaka .
• From abacus.