The Collaborative International Dictionary
Abaft \A*baft"\ ([.a]*b[.a]ft"), prep. [Pref. a- on + OE. baft, baften, biaften, AS. be[ae]ftan; be by + [ae]ftan behind. See After, Aft, By.] (Naut.) Behind; toward the stern from; as, abaft the wheelhouse.
Abaft the beam. See under Beam.
Beam \Beam\ (b[=e]m), n. [AS. be['a]m beam, post, tree, ray of light; akin to OFries. b[=a]m tree, OS. b[=o]m, D. boom, OHG. boum, poum, G. baum, Icel. ba[eth]mr, Goth. bagms and Gr. fy^ma a growth, fy^nai to become, to be. Cf. L. radius staff, rod, spoke of a wheel, beam or ray, and G. strahl arrow, spoke of a wheel, ray or beam, flash of lightning. [root]97. See Be; cf. Boom a spar.]
Any large piece of timber or iron long in proportion to its thickness, and prepared for use.
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One of the principal horizontal timbers of a building or ship.
The beams of a vessel are strong pieces of timber stretching across from side to side to support the decks.
--Totten. The width of a vessel; as, one vessel is said to have more beam than another.
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The bar of a balance, from the ends of which the scales are suspended.
The doubtful beam long nods from side to side.
--Pope. The principal stem or horn of a stag or other deer, which bears the antlers, or branches.
The pole of a carriage. [Poetic]
--Dryden.A cylinder of wood, making part of a loom, on which weavers wind the warp before weaving; also, the cylinder on which the cloth is rolled, as it is woven; one being called the fore beam, the other the back beam.
The straight part or shank of an anchor.
The main part of a plow, to which the handles and colter are secured, and to the end of which are attached the oxen or horses that draw it.
(Steam Engine) A heavy iron lever having an oscillating motion on a central axis, one end of which is connected with the piston rod from which it receives motion, and the other with the crank of the wheel shaft; -- called also working beam or walking beam.
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A ray or collection of parallel rays emitted from the sun or other luminous body; as, a beam of light, or of heat.
How far that little candle throws his beams!
--Shak. -
(Fig.): A ray; a gleam; as, a beam of comfort.
Mercy with her genial beam.
--Keble. -
One of the long feathers in the wing of a hawk; -- called also beam feather.
Abaft the beam (Naut.), in an arc of the horizon between a line that crosses the ship at right angles, or in the direction of her beams, and that point of the compass toward which her stern is directed.
Beam center (Mach.), the fulcrum or pin on which the working beam of an engine vibrates.
Beam compass, an instrument consisting of a rod or beam, having sliding sockets that carry steel or pencil points; -- used for drawing or describing large circles.
Beam engine, a steam engine having a working beam to transmit power, in distinction from one which has its piston rod attached directly to the crank of the wheel shaft.
Before the beam (Naut.), in an arc of the horizon included between a line that crosses the ship at right angles and that point of the compass toward which the ship steers.
On the beam, in a line with the beams, or at right angles with the keel.
On the weather beam, on the side of a ship which faces the wind.
To be on her beam ends, to incline, as a vessel, so much on one side that her beams approach a vertical position.
Usage examples of "abaft the beam".
Apart from anything else he had a way of enabling her to bear an extraordinary press of sail, particularly with the wind abaft the beam: he sent light hawsers and cablets to the mastheads, and although they made the ship look barbarously ugly they did keep her masts standing, where in another ship with the same thrust acting on her they would have carried away shrouds, backstays, preventer-backstays and all.
She was neither brisk nor lively with the wind much abaft the beam, but on a bowline she was as fast and weatherly as a man could desire, almost as fast and weatherly as the Surprise, and without her tendency to gripe and steer wild if an expert hand were not at the wheel During the frequent and oh so unwelcome calms he and the master changed her trim until they hit upon the improbable lay that suited her best -the haif-strake by the stern they had begun with - and then the Nutmeg steered herself.
Under these circumstances you repeatedly hear the order passed upon the main and lower deck of a line-of-battle ship, to point the guns two points abaft the beam, point-blank, and so on.
From the traverse-board and the log-board it was clear that the Surprise was almost exactly where he had meant her to be: Cape Doro would lie a little abaft the beam over the starboard horizon, and right ahead Phanari should loom up within an hour or two.
So many things had happened yesterday that he had not paid as much attention as he should have done to the pahi's speed or direction, but he did remember that she kept the wind between two and three points abaft the beam, apart from the last leg, and as for her speed he doubted whether it would have exceeded four knots at any time.
Well, she must be a capital sailer, at all events: look there, a point abaft the beam.
With the wind just abaft the beam Hotspur handled easily, but by this time instinct had to take the place of calculation.
Perhaps it will be better presently, when we bring the breeze abaft the beam.
Six or at the most seven knots was her utmost limit, even with the wind abaft the beam--studdingsails aloft and alow, and even kites, strange sails without a name, all set and drawing- and once they had hauled their wind three points, even six was beyond her power, driven though she was with all the resources of seamanship and an able, willing crew.
The distance is about fifty miles, and with the strong trade wind abaft the beam we made the passage in less than five hours, arriving early in the afternoon.
The Kathleen caught it just abaft the beam and gave such a tremendous roll that for a moment the four men at the helm could only hold on to the tiller to prevent themselves falling over, but the men at the relieving tackles, bracing themselves against the bulwarks, managed to stand firm.
She turned, bringing the wind a little abaft the beam, and moved towards the distant Constitution, her tattered ensign flying from the mizen's stump.
Elsinore was abaft the beam now, and the channel was opening wide.