Aback \A*back"\ ([.a]*b[a^]k"), adv. [Pref. a- + back; AS. on
b[ae]c 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.) 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 Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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