different between abaft vs quartering

English

Etymology

From a- (“on”) + Middle English baft, baften, biaften, Old English beæftan; be (“by”) (modern English by) + æftan (“behind”) (modern English after). See also aft.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??bæft/, /??b??ft/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /??bæft/, /??b?ft/
• Rhymes: -??ft

Preposition

abaft

1. (nautical) Behind; toward the stern relative to some other object or position; aft of. [First attested around the late 15^th century.]

   The captain stood abaft the wheelhouse.

Translations

Adverb

abaft (comparative more abaft, superlative most abaft)

1. (nautical) On the aft side; in the stern. [First attested in the early 17^th century.]

   We drifted with the wind abaft.

   The mate sleeps abaft.

2. (nautical, obsolete) Backwards. [Attested from around (1150 to 1350) until the late 15^th century.]

Translations

Related terms

• aft
• after

References

Anagrams

• BAFTA, bafta

English

Verb

quartering

1. present participle of quarter

Noun

quartering (plural quarterings)

1. A division into four parts.
   • 1994, David C. Schneider, Quantitative Ecology: Spatial and Temporal Scaling (page 36)

     Similitude applies to proportional changes, such as doublings, halvings, or quarterings; it does not apply to additive changes.

2. The act of providing housing for military personnel, especially when imposed upon the home of a private citizen.
3. The method of capital punishment where a criminal is cut into four pieces.
4. (heraldry) The division of a shield containing different coats of arms into four or more compartments.
5. (heraldry) One of the different coats of arms arranged upon an escutcheon, denoting the descent of the bearer.
6. (architecture) A series of quarters, or small upright posts.
7. (historical) The practice of docking 15 minutes' pay from a worker who arrived late (even by less than 15 minutes).
8. (hunting) Searching for prey by traversing a space. From hunting for game, where dogs will run parallel to the wind in search of a scent, thereby 'quatering' the field.

Translations

Adjective

quartering (not comparable)

1. (nautical) Coming from a point well abaft the beam, but not directly astern; said of waves or any moving object.
2. (by extension, aviation, of wind) Coming from aft and to one side; having both a crosswind and tailwind component.
3. (engineering) At right angles, as the cranks of a locomotive, which are in planes forming a right angle with each other.