Wordiyoback
Old EnglishVariants
Related Roots
About This Root
From Old English baec (rear of the body). As a root and combining form, it creates words of reversal, return, and rearward position — background (behind the scene), setback (pushed back), drawback (pulled back), backslide (slide backward). The physical 'rear' sense extends naturally to metaphorical retreat or reversal.
Associated Words
back
To go in the reverse direction; The rear of the body, especially the part between the neck and the end of the spine and opposite the chest and belly; Near the rear
backache
A pain or ache in the back
background
A person's experience and origins; the part of a scene behind the main subject
backhanded
Done with the back of the hand; indirect or sarcastic
backset
A setback or relapse
backslide
To revert to a worse state in morals or behaviour
backwater
Stagnant water held back by a dam; a remote, undeveloped place
drawback
A disadvantage or problem
setback
An unexpected problem or reversal that hinders progress
throwback
A reversion to an earlier type or stage; something reminiscent of the past