Back
/bæk/noun
The rear part of the body or something’s rear side; also, in many uses, toward the rear or return to a previous place or state.
Did you know?Back is one of those ancient body-words that survived through Proto-Germanic into English, while its deeper cousins spread across Europe in forms that still carry the same old sense of the rear side.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bhog- / *bheg-
“A reconstructed root often connected with bending or the back part, though the exact prehistoric source of Germanic back-forms is debated.”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*baką
“Back, the rear part of the body.”
Old English
OE
bæc
“The back of the body; the rear or reverse side.”
Middle English
ME
bak
“Back; rear side; reverse; also used in adverbial and directional senses.”
Modern English
English
back
“The rear part of the body, a rear surface, or movement toward the rear or a previous position.”