back

pronunciation

How to pronounce back in British English: UK [bæk] word uk audio image

How to pronounce back in American English: US [bæk] word us audio image

Noun:

the posterior part of a human (or animal) body from the neck to the end of the spine
the side that goes last or is not normally seen
the part of something that is furthest from the normal viewer
(football) a person who plays in the backfield
the series of vertebrae forming the axis of the skeleton and protecting the spinal cord
the front and back covering of a book
the part of a garment that covers your back
a support that you can lean against while sitting
the position of a player on a football team who is stationed behind the line of scrimmage
Verb:

be behind; approve of
travel backward
give support or one's approval to
cause to travel backward
support financial backing for
be in back of
place a bet on
shift to a counterclockwise direction
establish as valid or genuine
strengthen by providing with a back or backing
Adjective:

related to or located at the back
located at or near the back of an animal
of an earlier date
Adverb:

in or to or toward a former location
at or to or toward the back or rear
in or to or toward an original condition
in or to or toward a past time
in answer
in repayment or retaliation

Word Origin

back: back: [OE] Back goes back to a prehistoric West and North Germanic *bakam, which was represented in several pre-medieval and medieval Germanic languages: Old High German bah, for example, and Old Norse bak. In most of them, however, it has been ousted by relatives of English ridge, originally ‘spine’ (such as German rücken and Swedish rygg), and only English retains back.=> bacon

back (n.): Old English bæc "back," from Proto-Germanic *bakam (cognates: Old Saxon and Middle Dutch bak, Old Frisian bek), with no known connections outside Germanic. In other modern Germanic languages the cognates mostly have been ousted in this sense ib words akin to Modern English ridge (cognates: Danish ryg, German Rücken). Many Indo-European languages show signs of once having distinguished the horizontal back of an animal (or a mountain range) from the upright back of a human. In other cases, a modern word for "back" may come from a word related to "spine" (Italian schiena, Russian spina) or "shoulder, shoulder blade" (Spanish espalda, Polish plecy). To turn (one's) back on (someone or something) "ignore" is from early 14c. Behind (someone's) back "clandestinely" is from late 14c. To know (something) like the back of one's hand, implying familiarity, is first attested 1893. The first attested use of the phrase is from a dismissive speech made to a character in Robert Louis Stevenson's "Catriona": If I durst speak to herself, you may be certain I would never dream of trusting it to you; because I know you like the back of my hand, and all your blustering talk is that much wind to me. The story, a sequel to "Kidnapped," has a Scottish setting and context, and the back of my hand to you was noted in the late 19th century as a Scottish expression meaning "I will have nothing to do with you" [see Longmuir's edition of Jamieson's Scottish dictionary]. In English generally, the back of (one's) hand has been used to imply contempt and rejection since at least 1300. Perhaps the connection of a menacing dismissal is what made Stevenson choose that particular anatomical reference.

back (v.): late 15c., "to move (something) back," from back (adv.). Meaning "to support" (as by a bet) is first attested 1540s. Related: Backed; backing.

back (adj.): Middle English, from back (n.) and back (adv.). Formerly with comparative backer (c. 1400), also backermore. To be on the back burner in the figurative sense is from 1960, from the image of a cook keeping a pot there to simmer while he or she works on another concoction at the front of the stove.

back (adv.): late 14c., shortened from abak, from Old English on bæc "backwards, behind, aback" (see back (n.)). Adverbial phrase back and forth attested from 1814.