Aback : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: Aback	by the DICT Development Group
3 results for Aback
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
aback adv having the wind against the forward side of the sails; "the ship came up into the wind with all yards aback" by surprise; "taken aback by the caustic remarks"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Aback \Ab"ack\ ([acr]b"[ait]k), n. An abacus. [Obs.] --B. Jonson.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Aback \Aback"\ ([adot]b[acr]k"), adv. [Pref. a- + back; AS. on b[91]c at, on, or toward the back. See {Back}.] 1. Toward the back or rear; backward. [bd]Therewith aback she started.[b8] --Chaucer. 2. Behind; in the rear. --Knolles. 3. (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.