Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BACK, v.t.

1. To mount; to get upon the back; sometimes, perhaps, to place upon the back; as, to back a horse. – Shak.
2. To support; to maintain; to second or strengthen by aid; as, the Court was backed by the House of Commons. – Dryden.
3. To put backward; to cause to retreat or recede; as, to back oxen.
4. To back a warrant, is for a justice of the peace in the county where the warrant is to be executed, to sign or indorse a warrant, issued in another county, to apprehend an offender. – Blackstone.
5. In seamanship, to back an anchor, is to lay down a small anchor ahead of a large one, the cable of the small one being fastened to the crown of the large one, to prevent its coming home.
6. To back astern, in rowing, is to manage the oars in a direction contrary to the usual method, to move a boat stern foremost.
7. To back the sails, is to arrange them so as to cause the ship to move astern. – Mar. Dict.