back (bak)

[ G. back- in comp., also separately, back, forecastle) = Icel. Sw. bak = Dan, bag, back. Cf. AS. hrycg, back, E. ridge.] 1. The whole hinder part of the human body, opposite the front and between the sides, or the upper part of the body of most animals; technically, the spinal, dorsal, or tergal portion, surface, or aspect of the trunk, extending from the scruff of the neck between the shoulders to the buttocks, hams, or bifurcation of the body at the legs; the tergum; the dorsum; the notæ um.-2. The corresponding or related portion of any part or organ of the body; the posterior aspect of a thing; the part opposite to or furthest from the front, or in any way correlated with the back of the trunk: as, the back of the head, neck, arm, leg; the back of the hand; the back of the mouth.-3. Anything resembling the back in position. (a) As being behind or furthest from the face or front, like the back in man: as, the back of a house. sooner. Trees set upon the backs of chimneys do ripen fruits Bacon , Nat. Hist. (b) As being behind, or in the furthest distance, with reference to the spectator, speaker, scene of action, etc.: as, village. (c) As being the part which comes behind in the the back of an island; the back of a wood; the back of a ordinary movements of a thing, or when it is used: as, the back of a knife, saw, etc. (d) As forming the upper, and especially the outer and upper, portion of a thing, like the back of one of the lower animals: as, the back of a hand-rail; the back of a rafter. (e) The ridge of a hill. The mountains huge appear Emergent, and their broad bare backs upheave. Milton , P. L., vii. 286. O'er the long backs of the bushle downs. Tennyson, Lance lot and Elaine. (f) As being that which supports the ribs: as, the back of a ship (namely, the keel and keelson). See broken - backed. (g) The upright hind part of a chair, serving as a support for the back. (h) In bot., the outer side of an organ, or the side turned away from the axis: as, the back of a leaf or of a carpel. 4. By synecdoche, the whole body, with reference to clothing, because the back is usually most fully covered: as, he has not clothes to his back. back proof, and a lighter backpiece, the two secured together under the arms, usually by straps and buckles. Armed with back and breast , head piece and bracelets. Scott , Legend of Montrose, Back and edget, wholly; completely. They have engaged themselves ours back and edge. Lady Alimony , iii. Back of a book, that part of the cover to which the two sides are attached and on which the title is usually printed. Back of a bow, in archery , the exterior side of a bow, which is convex when the bow is bent. In modern European bows this part is flat. See belly , 8 (g). - Back of a hand-rail, the upper surface: the under side is the breast . -Back of a hip-rafter, the upper edge of the rafter shaped to the angle which the adjoining sides make with each other. See cut under hip . - Back of an arch or vault, the extrados, or outer curve or face. See first cut under arch. - Back of a roof-rafter, its upper surface. - Back of a slate, in roofing, the upper or weather side. Back of a window, the wainscoting below the sash-frame, extending to the floor. - Backs and cutters, a miners' name for jointed rock-structures, the backs running in lines more or le parallel to the strike of the strata, and forming the "back" of the quarry, and the cutters cro ing them at right angles. - Behind one's back, in secret, or when one is absent. I confe , Mr. Surface, I cannot bear to hear people attacked behind their backs ; and when ugly circumstances come out against our acquaintance, I own I always love to think the best. Sheridan , School for Scandal, i. 1. Lazy-back, a high back-bar in a carriage-seat. It is some times made so as to be removable at will, E. H. Knight. Mitered back, in bookbinding, a back having lines, usually in gold, connected and mitered in square panels by means of cro -lines between the bands. - Run-up back, in bookbinding, a back having two lines, usually in gold, on its outer edges, running off at top and bottom. Distinguished from the mitered back (which see). - Small of the back, the loins; the reins. - The back of beyond. See beyond. To be on another's back, to be severe on one any fault or foolish act; chide; ridicule. [Colloq.] -To be on one's (own) back, to be at the end of one's resources; be aground. [Colloq.] - To bow down the back, to submit to oppre ion. Rom. xi. 10. To break the back. See break. - To cast behind the back, in Scrip.: (a) To forget and forgive. Is. xxxviii. 17. (6) Το treat with contempt. Ezek. xxiii. 35; Neh. ix. 26. Το get one's back up, to resist; be obstinate. See to put one's back up, below. [Colloq.] - To give a back, to bend the back and keep it firm so as to allow another to leap over one by placing his hands upon the back, or to mount up to anything. [Colloq.] To make a back. Same as to give a back. -To put or get one's back up, to show antipathy or aversion; resist; be angry or indignant: a metaphor probably taken from the habits of frightened or angry cats. [Colloq.] - To see the back of, to get rid of. To turn the back on one, to forsake or neglect him. back1 (bak), a. [ I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen. Ex. xxxiii. 23. Hence-2. Away from the front position or rank; remote in place or condition; far in the rear, literally or figuratively: as, the back settlements of a country. In December we had two insurrections of the back inhabitants of our province. Franklin , Autobiog., p. 315. 3. In a backward direction; returning in the Shak ., 1 Hen. IV., iii. 3. direction whence it came: as, a back stroke; I bought you a dozen of shirts to your back . 51. Clothing; a garment to cover the back. And owre bakkes that moth-eaten be. Piers Plowman (B), x. 362. 6. pl. In the leather trade, the thickest and best-tanned hides.-7t. The addre of a letter, formerly written on the back of the letter itself. Scott.-8t. A reserve or secondary re IMG:content-1519.png:[blocks in formation] 9. In ship - building, a timber bolted on the after end of the rudder, to complete its form. -10. In metal - mining, the portion of the lode which lies between any level or stope and the one next above it, or the surface. Generally, the backs are the unstoped portions of the lode, as far as laid open, and ready to be mined or stoped.-11. In coal - mining: ( a ) Same as face. (b) The inner end of a heading where work is going on.-12. In foot - ball, a position behind the line of rushers, or a player in this position: called quarter - back, half -back, three-quarters back, or full - back, according to the distance from the rushers. Back and belly. ( a ) Before and behind; all over: as, to beat a person back and belly. (b) With clothes and food: as, to keep a person back and belly (to keep him in clothes and food). [Vulgar.] - Back and breast, the usual term in the seventeenth century for the body-armor of the period. It consisted of a solid breastplate in one piece, generally considered bullet back water. [In this sense properly with a hyphen.]-4. In arrear; overdue: as, back pay or rents. Back action, See action. - Back cylinder head, that head of a cylinder through which the piston engines. pa es in locomotives: the opposite head in stationary back1 (bak), adv. [By apheresis for aback, All shrank back aghast, and left the denouncer of woe standing alone in the centre of the hall. Irving , Granada, p. 23. 2. From forward motion or progre ; from advancing or advancement; in a state of restraint, hindrance, or retardation: with such verbs as keep and hold: as, he was held back with difficulty; the police kept back the crowd. The Lord hath kept thee back from honour. Num. xxiv. 11. 3. To or toward one's (its or their) original starting-point, place, or condition: as, to go back to the city, to one's old occupation, to one's former belief. I must bear answer back How you excuse my brother. Shak., As you Like it, iv. 3. Each succe ive wave rushes forward, breaks, and rolls back. Macaulay, Sir J. Mackintosh. 4. From a present, usual, or natural position; in a direction opposite to some other, expre ed IMG:content-1520.png:[blocks in formation] 9. Behind in position, literally or figuratively, or as regards progre made: absolutely or with of : as, the hills back of the town; the feel tabsolutely ing back of his words; a few pages back . - 10. Past in time; ago; since: as, a little back . [Colloq.] This precaution, still more salutary than offensive, has for some years back been omitted. Quoted in N. and Q. , 7th ser., II. 106. 11. Again; in return: as, to answer back ; to pay back a loan. "Ruth - daughter Ruth!" the outlaw shrieks, But no sound comes back- he is standing alone. Whittier, Mogg Megone, i. To and backt, forward and backward; to and fro. This common body, Like to a vagabond flag upon the stream, Goes to and back , lackeying the varying tide. To breke beggeris bred and bakken hem with cloth is. Piers Plowman (A), xi. 185. 3. To support or aid, as with practical a ist- ance, money, authority, influence, etc.; second or strengthen; reinforce: often with up : as, in his efforts he was backed by many influen- tial men; he backed up his argument with a bet. R. B. Roosevelt , Game-Fish, p. 306. 10. To cause to move backward; propel back- ward: as, to back a horse; to back a boat.- 11. To reverse the action of: as, to back a stationary engine.-12. In coal-mining, to throw back into the gob or waste, as the small slack made in holing or undercutting the coal. Gresley. [Leicestershire, Eng.] - To back a chain or rope, to attach a preventer to it so as to anchorl, n.- To back a sail, to brace the yards so reduce the strain upon it. To back an anchor. See that the wind will pre on the forward surface of the sail. To back a warrant, to sign or indorse a warrant i ued in another county to apprehend an offender.- To back (a spindle) off, in cotton-spinning, to reverse the motion of mule-spindles at the end of a stretch, in un- winding the last few coils of the thread about the cop, in order to prepare for its proper distribution upon the cop when the mule-carriage returns. To back the oars, to row backward so as to check the boat's headway or to gain sternway. To back the worming, in rope - making , to fill the interstices between the strands of a rope, thus mak- or a istance to; stand by; give countenance to: as, to back up one's friends. (b) To move or force backward: as, to back up a carriage. (c) To reverse, as an engine or a pre . (d) In electrotyping , to strengthen, as the thin shell or electroplate obtained from a wax mold of a form of type, an engraved plate, etc., by depositing upon its back type-metal to a certain thickne . (e) In base - ball order to stop and return any balls that may pa him: as, and similar games, to stand behind, as another player, in the center-field backs up the second-base. - To back water, to propel a boat in the opposite direction to that in which the prow is pointed, by reversing the action of the rowing in the case of a rowboat, or of the machinery in the case of a steamboat. II. in trans. [ back1 , adv .] 1. To move or go backward: as, the horse backed ; the train backed .-2. To move in the reverse direction: said specifically of the wind, in contra dist inc- tion to haul (which see), when it changes in a manner contrary to the usual circuit. In the northern hemisphere, on the polar side of the trade-winds, the usual circuit of changes in the wind is from east by the south to west, and so on to the north. In the same latitudes in the southern hemisphere the reverse usually indication of bad weather. To back and fill. (a) To get a square-rigged ve el to windward in a narrow channel, when the wind is against the tide and there is no room for as a counterbalance for an eccentric, or an ec- centric pulley or gear. back-band (bak'band), n. A broad strap or chain pa ing over the saddle of a cart or car- riage-horse, and used to support the shafts. Called in Scotland a rigwiddie . back-bar (bak'bär), n. The horizontal bar in the old English open fireplace, on which the heavy kettle was hung over the fire. back be art (bak'bar), n . In old Eng . forest law , the act of carrying on the back venison killed illegally. See back carry . backbite (bak'bit), v.; pret. backbit , pp. back- bitten , backbit , ppr. backbiting . [ bak- biten , earlier bacbiten (= Icel. bakbīta (Haldor- sen), appar. from E.), bac , bak , n., the back, or, more prob., bak , adv. (though this, the apheretic form of abak , aback , is not found in ME. except in comp. and deriv.), + biten , bite: see back1 and bite .] I. trans. To injure moral- ly in a manner comparable to biting from be- hind; attack the character or reputation of se- cretly; censure, slander, or speak evil of in absence: rarely with a thing as object. And eke the verse of famous Poets witt He does backebite . To be prynces in pryde and pouerte to dispise, To bakbite , and to bosten and bere fals witne e. Piers Plowman (B), ii. 80. Ps. xv. 3. They are arrant knaves, and will backbite . Shak., 2 Hen. IV., v. i. One who slanders, backbiter (bak'bī"tér), n. calumniates, or speaks ill of the absent. Satirists describe the age, and backbiters a ign their de- script ions to private men. Steele , Tatler, No. 242. Nine tithes of times Face-flatterers and backbiters are the same. Tennyson, Merlin and Vivien. backbiting (bak'bi"ting), n. [ME. bacbiting , bacbitung ; verbal n. of backbite .] The act of slandering the absent; secret calumny. Envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings , whisperings. 2 Cor. xii. 20. the other while being carried on by the tide. Hence - (b) To be vacillating or irresolute; shilly-shally. - To back back-block (bak'blok), n. In piano- making , see astern. See astern.- To back down, to recede from a position; abandon an argument or opinion; give in. To back out, to retreat from a difficulty or withdraw from an engagement. back2t, n. The earlier form of bat2 . back3 (bak), n. [ bak , a bowl, tray, = Dan. bakke , a tray, bac , a trough, basin, a brewer's or distiller's back, also a ferry- boat; cf. Bret. bak , bag , a boat, ML. bac us , baccus , a ferry-boat, bacca , a bowl ('vas aqua- rium'); origin uncertain. Cf. basin , from the same source.] 1. A large flat-bottomed fer- ry-boat, especially one adapted for carrying vehicles, and worked by a chain or rope fas- tened on each side of the stream. - 2. A large cistern or vat used by brewers, distillers, dyers, etc., for holding liquids; a large tub or trough. -3. A kind of wooden trough for holding or carrying fuel, ashes, etc.; a coal-scuttle: com- monly in the diminutive form bakey . [Scotch.] Narrowly escaping breaking my shins on a turf back . Scott , Rob Roy, III. 13. backache (bak'ak), n. Any dull or continuous pain in the back. backache-brake (bak'āk-brāk), n. A name of the lady-fern, Asplenium Filix - fæmina . backache-root (bak'ak-röt), n. The button snakeroot, Liatris spicata . back-action (bak'ak"shon), a. In marine eng in ., having the connections between the piston-rod We both will back the winds, And hunt the phœnix through the Arabian deserts. Shirley, Grateful Servant, iv. 5. spelling baccare , orig. bacare , in the pa age of Shakspere has led to the fancy that the word is dog-Latin, based on E. back .] Stand back! go back! back-bond (bak'bond), n. In Scots law , a deed attaching a qualification or condition to the terms of a conveyance or other instrument. backbone (bak'bōn'), n. [ME. bakbone , bakbon , bacbon ; back1 + bone1.] 1. The bone of the middle line of the back; the spine; the vertebral column; the vertebræ collectively.-2. Something resembling a back- bone in appearance, position, or office: as, the A pennines are the backbone of Italy. The plutocrats, shippers, merchants and others who are the backbone of the Conservative party. R. J. Hinton , Eng. Rad. Leaders, [p. 202. 3. Figuratively, firmne ; sta- bility of purpose; decision of character; resolution; moral principle. And he has reached the northern plain, And backed his fire-fly steed again. J. R. Drake , Culprit Fay, p. 59. 7. To write something on the back of; addre , as a letter; indorse.-8. To lie at the back of; adjoin in the rear; form a back or background to. That length of cloistral roof, Peering in air and backed by azure sky. Words worth, Near Aquapendente. Ah, backare , quod Mortimer to his so we. Udall , Roister Doister. Backare, quoth Mortimer to his sow, see Mortimer's sow speaketh as good Latyn as hee. Heywood. [A proverbial saying, derived apparently from some local anecdote.] Baccare! you are marvellous forward. Shak., T. of the S., ii. 1. The civilization is cheap and weak which has not the backbone of con- science in it. J. F. Clarke , Self-Culture, p. 202. Backbone of an awning, a rope sewed to the middle of a ship's awning, and extending fore and aft, to strengthen it and afford it support. - To the Co 10 1 Human Backbone. C.r, first cervical vertebra; D.r , first dorsal vertebra: L1, first lunibar vertebra; S.1, first sacral ver. tebra: Co.1 , first coccygeal vertebra. IMG:content-1521.png:[blocks in formation] Jolly old Burbo, staunch to the backbone. Bulwer , Last Days of Pompeii, ii. 1. A true-blue Tory to the backbone. Game to the backbone. T. Hughes. back-cast (bak'kast), n. [ back1 , adv . , + cast, n.] 1. A cast or throw back.-2. A backward stroke, or a stroke driving one back; hence, figuratively, any discouragement or cause of relapse or failure. [Scotch.] back-cast (bak'kást), a . [ back1 , adv ., + cast, pp .] Cast or thrown back: as, " back- cast thoughts," Joanna Baillie . back-center (bak's en"tėr), n. In a lathe, the point of the back or dead spindle of the tailstock. It supports that end of the piece which is to be turned. The front center is that part of the live spindle which is in the headstock. - Back-center screw, in a lathe, the screw which gives longitudinal set the back-center.