back

• n. 後麵；背部；靠背；足球等的後衛；書報等的末尾
• vt. 支持；後退；背書；下賭注
• vi. 後退；背靠；倒退
• adv. 以前；向後地；來回地；上溯
• adj. 後麵的；過去的；拖欠的
• n. (Back)人名；(西、英、德、法、瑞典、捷)巴克

詞源不詳，可能來自拉丁詞bacilum, 杆，指脊柱，豎背。與ridge, 山脊，橫背相對應。

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.

1. If you love life, life will love you back.

熱愛生活，生活也會厚愛你。

來自金山詞霸 每日一句

2. We'll go to a meeting in Birmingham and come straight back.

我們將去伯明翰參加會議，然後馬上回來。

來自柯林斯例句

3. The rescuers were beaten back by strong winds and currents.

救援人員因風浪太大而被迫中斷工作。

來自柯林斯例句

4. I'll report back the moment I have located him.

我一找到他就馬上匯報。

來自柯林斯例句

5. He ordered them to stack up pillows behind his back.

他命令他們把幾個枕頭疊放在自己的背後。

來自柯林斯例句