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Aback

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a⋅back

  [uh-bak]
Use Aback in a Sentence
–adverb
1. toward the back.
2. Nautical. so that the wind presses against the forward side of the sail or sails.
–adjective Nautical.
3. (of a sail) positioned so that the wind presses against the forward side.
4. (of a yard) positioned so that its sail is laid aback.
—Idiom
5. taken aback, surprised and disconcerted: I was taken aback by his harsh criticism.
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME abak, OE on bæc to the rear. See a-1, on, back 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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a·back   (ə-bāk')   
adv.  

  1. By surprise: He was taken aback by her caustic remarks.

  2. Nautical In such a way that the wind pushes against the forward side of a sail or sails.

  3. Archaic Back; backward.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

aback 
O.E. on bæc, "at or on the back." Now surviving mainly in taken aback, originally a nautical expression for a sudden change of wind that flattens the square sails back against the masts and stops the forward motion of a ship (1754). The figurative sense is first recorded 1840.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Idioms & Phrases

aback

see take aback.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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