Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • preposition Toward the stern from.
  • adverb Toward the stern.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Nautical, behind; aft; in or at the back or hind part of a ship, or the parts which lie toward the stern: opposed to forward; relatively, further aft, or toward the stern: as, abaft the mainmast (astern).

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • preposition (Naut.) Behind; toward the stern from.
  • preposition See under Beam.
  • adverb (Naut.) Toward the stern; aft.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adverb at or near or toward the stern of a ship or tail of an airplane

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[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).]

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Examples

  • Charles Davis came abaft the 'midship-house, and, while we talked, many faces peered over the for'ard edge of the house and many forms slouched into view on the deck on each side of the house.

    CHAPTER XLV 2010

  • He made his way to the yam sacks lashed abaft the mizzenmast and got his bottle.

    CHAPTER XI 2010

  • The next one abaft of his own he named "Killeny Boy's," and called on

    CHAPTER X 2010

  • The bunk next on the port side to the cook's and abaft of it

    CHAPTER X 2010

  • "She's been needing new timbers abaft the beam there for years," quoth Captain Glass.

    THE DEVILS OF FUATINO 2010

  • Her interior was wholly rebuilt, so that the hold became main-cabin and staterooms, while abaft amidships were installed engines, a dynamo, an ice machine, storage batteries, and, far in the stern, gasoline tanks.

    Bunches of Knuckles 2010

  • And then there's what Hyundai called the Ultimate package, a Maybach-like set of business-class power reclining seats in the back, with heating and massage; power headrests with tilt-in adjustable bolsters like some airline seats; a refrigerator in the center console, abaft of the rear seat/climate/entertainment control panel and 8-inch display; and three window shades for the full celebrity treatment.

    Hyundai's Ur-Luxury Horse of a Different Dolor Dan Neil 2011

  • Fidel Castro started his life journey from a sugar cane farm in Cuba 80 years ago; stood in the abaft and victoriously led the Cubans in the rebellion against the Batistans at the age of 32.

    '634 Ways to Kill Fidel Castro' details the survival of a dictatorship 2008

  • A nao was a Portuguese term nef or nau in French for a full-rigged round ship, with large square-rigged sails on two or three masts, sometimes with a lateen-rigged mizzen and a smaller mast called a bonaventure abaft the mizzen.

    Champlain's Dream David Hackett Fischer 2008

  • At sea a bonaventure was the French name for a very short mizzen mast, stepped abaft a tall mainmast—in much the same way that this young Indian lad tagged along behind the governor.

    Champlain's Dream David Hackett Fischer 2008

Comments

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  • This word is really fun to say.

    October 29, 2007