Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BACK'WARD, a.

1. Unwilling; averse; reluctant; hesitating. For wiser brutes are backward to be slaves. – Pope.
2. Slow; sluggish; dilatory. The mind is backward to undergo the fatigue of weighing every argument. – Watts.
3. Dull; not quick of apprehension; behind in progress; as, a backward learner.
4. Late; behind in time; coming after something else, or after the usual time; as, backward fruits; the season is backward.