As a noun, back is the rear part of something, especially the human body behind the chest. As an adverb or adjective, it relates to returning to an earlier place, time, or position; as a verb, it means to move or support from behind.
From Old English “bæc,” meaning “back” or “rear,” related to words in other Germanic languages with the same sense. It has kept its core idea of “the rear side” for over a thousand years.
Back is one of those tiny words that do huge amounts of work in English—body part, direction, time travel, emotional support (“I’ve got your back”). It shows how language loves to stretch simple physical ideas into many abstract uses.
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