abaft

== English == === Alternative forms === baft === Etymology === From Middle English obaft, baft, baften, from Old English beæftan; be (“by”) (modern English by) + æftan (“behind”) (modern English after). See also aft. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /əˈbɑːft/ (General American) IPA(key): /əˈbæft/ Rhymes: -ɑːft, -æft === Preposition === abaft (nautical) Behind; toward the stern relative to some other object or position; aft of. [First attested around the late 15th century.] Synonym: abaft of 1773, James Cook, An Account of a Voyage Around the World, Book 3, Chapter 5, in John Hawkesworth (ed.), An Account of the Voyages Undertaken by the Order of His Present Majesty: for Making Discoveries in the Southern Hemisphere, London: W. Strahan and T. Cadell, Volume 3, p. 558,[2] […] we could hear the water rush in a little abaft the foremast, about three feet from the keel: this determined me to clear the hold intirely. For more quotations using this term, see Citations:abaft. ==== Translations ==== === Adverb === abaft (comparative more abaft, superlative most abaft) (nautical) On the aft side; in the stern. [First attested in the early 17th century.] (nautical, obsolete) Backwards. [Attested from around (1150 to 1350) until the late 15th century.] ==== Translations ==== === Related terms === aft after === See also === astern === References === === Anagrams === BAFTA, bafta