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athwart

 - 2 dictionary results

a⋅thwart

  [uh-thwawrt]
Use athwart in a Sentence
–adverb
1. from side to side; crosswise.
2. Nautical.
a. at right angles to the fore-and-aft line; across.
b. broadside to the wind because of equal and opposite pressures of wind and tide: a ship riding athwart.
3. perversely; awry; wrongly.
–preposition
4. from side to side of; across.
5. Nautical. across the direction or course of.
6. in opposition to; contrary to.
Origin:
1425–75; late ME; see a- 1 , thwart
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To athwart
a·thwart   (ə-thwôrt')   
adv.  

  1. From side to side; crosswise or transversely.

  2. So as to thwart, obstruct, or oppose; perversely.

prep.  

  1. From one side to the other of; across: "the Stars that shoot athwart the Night" (Alexander Pope).

  2. Contrary to; against.

  3. Nautical Across the course, line, or length of.


[Middle English : a-, on; see a-2 + thwert, across; see thwart.]
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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