Archaic nautical term meaning with the bow of a ship turned into the wind or positioned at right angles to the wind.
From Old English 'a-' (on/at) + 'box' (from boxing the compass in nautical terminology); specialized maritime vocabulary.
When sailors said a sail was 'abox,' it meant the ship was about to lose all wind power—a dangerous situation requiring immediate action, so precision in the phrase mattered.
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