Abaft has 3 different meanings across 2 categories:
Adverb
· Prep
Adverb
1
at or near or toward the stern of a ship or tail of an airplane
"stow the luggage aft"
"ships with square sails sail fairly efficiently with the wind abaft"
"the captain looked astern to see what the fuss was about"
2
On the aft side; in the stern.
Prep
1
Behind; toward the stern relative to some other object or position; aft of.
Example Sentences
"stow the luggage aft"
adverb
"ships with square sails sail fairly efficiently with the wind abaft"
adverb
"the captain looked astern to see what the fuss was about"
adverb
Origin
Abaft comes from the Middle English word obaft, which was formed by combining "be" (meaning "by") and "æftan" (meaning "behind"). This term originally described a position located behind or at the stern of a ship.