taken aback

adverb

1. toward the back.
2. Nautical. so that the wind presses against the forward side of the sail or sails.

adjective Nautical.

3. (of a sail) positioned so that the wind presses against the forward side.
4. (of a yard) positioned so that its sail is laid aback.

Idioms

5. taken aback, surprised and disconcerted: I was taken aback by his harsh criticism.

adverb

1. taken aback
   1. startled or disconcerted
   2. nautical(of a vessel or sail) having the wind against the forward side so as to prevent forward motion
2. rare towards the back; backwards

adv.c.1200, from Old English on bæc “at or on the back;” see back (n.). Now surviving mainly in taken aback, originally a nautical expression in reference to a vessel’s square sails when a sudden change of wind flattens them back against the masts and stops the forward motion of the ship (1754). The figurative sense is first recorded 1840. see take aback. see take aback.