different between aback vs behind

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??bæk/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /??bæk/
• Rhymes: -æk

Etymology 1

• From Middle English abak, from Old English onbæc.
• a- (“towards”) +? back (“back”).

Compare West Frisian tebek (“aback”, adverb, literally “to/at back”), Swedish tillbaka (idem.).

Adverb

aback (not comparable)

1. (archaic) Towards the back or rear; backwards. [First attested prior to 1150.]
2. (archaic) In the rear; a distance behind. [First attested prior to 1150.]

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Knolles to this entry?)
3. By surprise; startled; dumbfounded. (see usage)
4. (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 17^th century.]

Usage notes

• (by surprise): Preceded by a form of the word take, see take aback.

Translations

See also

• Category:English phrasal verbs with particle (aback)

Etymology 2

From abacus.

Noun

aback (plural abacks)

1. (obsolete) An abacus.

Translations

References

Anagrams

• Baack, Ba?ka

English

Alternative forms

• behine (archaic, AAVE)

Etymology

From Middle English behinde, behinden, from Old English behindan (“on the back side of, behind”), equivalent to be- +? hind. Compare Old Saxon bihindan (“behind”, adverb), Middle High German behinter (“behind; back”).

Pronunciation

• (preposition, adverb)
  • IPA^(key): /b??ha?nd/, /b??ha?nd/
• (noun)
  • (General American) IPA^(key): /?bi??ha?nd/, /b??ha?nd/
  • (UK) IPA^(key): /b??ha?nd/, /b??ha?nd/
• Hyphenation: be?hind

Preposition

behind

1. At the back of; positioned with something else in front of.
2. To the back of. (Can we clean up⁽⁺⁾ this sense?)
3. After, time- or motion-wise.
4. responsible for

5. In support of.

6. Left a distance by, in progress or improvement; inferior to.
7. (nonstandard, US, slang) As a result or consequence of

Synonyms

• (at the back of): a-back (Chester), in back of, to the rear of.

Antonyms

• in front of

Derived terms

• behind every successful man there stands a woman

Translations

Adverb

behind (comparative behinder or more behind, superlative behindest or most behind)

1. At the back part; in the rear. (Can we clean up⁽⁺⁾ this sense?)
2. Toward the back part or rear; backward.

3. Overdue, in arrears.

4. Slow; of a watch or clock.

5. existing afterwards
6. Backward in time or order of succession; past.
7. Behind the scenes in a theatre; backstage.
8. (archaic) Not yet brought forward, produced, or exhibited to view; out of sight; remaining.

   • We cannot be sure that there is no evidence behind.

Usage notes

For usage in phrasal verbs, see Category:English phrasal verbs with particle (behind).

Translations

Noun

behind (plural behinds)

1. the rear, back-end
2. (informal) butt, the buttocks, bottom
3. (Australian rules football) A one-point score.
4. (baseball, slang, 1800s) The catcher.
5. In the Eton College field game, any of a group of players consisting of two "shorts" (who try to kick the ball over the bully) and a "long" (who defends the goal).

Translations

Derived terms

Related terms

• hind
• hiney

References

• behind in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• behind in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• Andrea Tyler and Vyvyan Evans, "Spatial particles of orientation", in The Semantics of English Prepositions: Spatial Scenes, Embodied Meaning and Cognition, Cambridge University Press, 2003, 0-521-81430 8