aback
(adverb) by surprise; “taken aback by the caustic remarks”
aback
(adverb) having the wind against the forward side of the sails; “the ship came up into the wind with all yards aback”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
aback (not comparable)
(archaic) Towards the back or rear; backwards. [First attested prior to 1150.]
(archaic) In the rear; a distance behind. [First attested prior to 1150.]
By surprise; startled; dumbfounded. (see usage)
(nautical) 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. [First attested in the late 17th century.]
• (by surprise): Preceded by a form of the word take, see take aback.
aback (plural abacks)
(obsolete) An abacus.
Source: Wiktionary
A*back", adv. Etym: [Pref. a- + back; AS. on bæc at, on, or toward the back. See Back.]
1. Toward the back or rear; backward. "Therewith aback she started." Chaucer.
2. Behind; in the rear. Knolles.
3. (Naut.)
Definition: 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.
Ab"ack, n.
Definition: An abacus. [Obs.] B. Jonson.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
15 April 2025
(adjective) marked by or promising bad fortune; “their business venture was doomed from the start”; “an ill-fated business venture”; “an ill-starred romance”; “the unlucky prisoner was again put in irons”- W.H.Prescott
The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.
