Associations to the word «aback»
Wiktionary
ABACK, adverb. (archaic) Towards the back or rear; backwards. [First attested prior to 1150.]
ABACK, adverb. (archaic) In the rear; a distance behind. [First attested prior to 1150.]
ABACK, adverb. By surprise; startled; dumbfounded.
ABACK, adverb. (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.]
ABACK, noun. (obsolete) An abacus.
Dictionary definition
ABACK, adverb. Having the wind against the forward side of the sails; "the ship came up into the wind with all yards aback".
ABACK, adverb. By surprise; "taken aback by the caustic remarks".
Wise words
The most important things are the hardest things to say.
They are the things you get ashamed of because words
diminish your feelings - words shrink things that seem
timeless when they are in your head to no more than living
size when they are brought out.