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abaft

 - 3 dictionary results

a⋅baft

  [uh-baft, uh-bahft] Nautical
Use abaft in a Sentence
–preposition
1. to the rear of; aft of: the fife rail abaft the mainmast.
–adverb
2. in the direction of the stern; astern; aft.
Origin:
1225–75; ME on baft, abaft, equiv. to a- 1 and on on + baft, OE bæftan contr. of be + æftan. See by, aft
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To abaft
a·baft   (ə-bāft')   
adv.  Toward the stern.
prep.  Toward the stern from.

[Middle English on baft : on, at; see on + baft, to the rear (from Old English beæftan, behind : be, by, at; see ambhi in Indo-European roots + æftan, behind; see apo- in Indo-European roots).]
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

abaft 
O.E. on bæftan "backwards," the second component itself a compound of be "by" + æftan "aft" (see aft). Since M.E. used exclusively of ships, the stern being the "after" part of a vessel.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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