abreastadv.prep.

Brit.

/əˈbrɛst/, U.S.

/əˈbrɛst/

Forms: see a- prefix³ and breast n.

Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: a prep.¹, breast n.

Etymology: < a prep.¹ + breast n.

A. adv.

a. Side by side and facing or moving in the same direction. Cf. breast n. 9.Frequently with preceding numeral indicating the number of individuals so aligned, forming an adverbial phrase (sometimes also used attributively, usually hyphenated).Quot. a1450 may show earlier currency of this sense, although it would be an isolated Middle English attestation and it seems more likely to be evidence for the prepositional construction on a breast: see breast n. 9.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > state or position of being parallel > [adjective] > abreast of each other

abreast1567

side by side1833

the world > space > relative position > state or position of being parallel > [adverb] > abreast

side by sidec1275

beside1340

afronta1425

side to side?c1450

sidelingsa1540

abreast1567

evenly1583

breastwise1613

fair1685

sidelong1803

sidlingly1859

a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich Hist. Holy Grail xx. l. 271 (MED) Owt they Comen Al On Abrest.]

1567 J. Maplet Greene Forest ii. f. 68^v They [sc. cranes] flie two a breast.

1600 J. Pory tr. J. Leo Africanus Geogr. Hist. Afr. iii. 113 The winding staires were somewhat larger, insomuch that three horses a-breast might well ascend vp.

1612 J. Smith Map of Virginia 27 These as enimies tooke their stands a musket shot one from another; ranked themselues 15 a breast and each ranke from another 4 or 5 yards.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) iv. vi. 17 My soule shall thine keepe company to heauen: Tarry (sweet soule) for mine, then flye a-brest .

1675 London Gaz. No. 1001/2 The Mines succeeded very well, and made a breach, that 16 Men might enter a-breast.

1708 J. M. Deane Jrnl. Campaign Flanders 28 Aug. (1846) 22 Ye way bad, with narrow bridges and close lanes so that but one or 2 could pas abreast.

1761 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy IV. xxv. 161 Corporal Trim and Obadiah, upon two coach-horses a-breast, led the way.

1808 M. Wilmot Jrnl. 16 Aug. (1934) iii. 363 We..set off in the Dormeuse 4 horses abreast & two before.

1855 J. E. Bradfield Public Carriages Great Brit. vii. 35 Glasgow omnibuses, with their three-abreast horses.

1879 J. A. Froude Cæsar xiv. 205 A pass..so narrow that but two carts could go abreast along it.

1928 M. de la Roche Whiteoaks (1929) xii. 157 Four girls approached abreast, wearing French heels and flesh-coloured stockings.

1952 H. E. Bates Love for Lydia (1956) i. iii. 28 Down the footpath there was no room for us to walk abreast and I felt it polite to walk ahead of her.

1972 J. Irving Water-Method Man (1980) xxvi. 251 Three policemen came down the hall abreast, in step.

1998 D. K. Cameron Eng. Fairs i. 8 His carousels had gallopers..three and occasionally four abreast.

b. Into this alignment with respect to something or someone; alongside. Cf. sense A. 3a.

ΚΠ

1807 Gentleman's Mag. June 549/1 A halt was necessary,..to give time to the batteaux, laden with provisions, to come abreast.

1827 Times 18 Apr. 2/5 The Alderman came in front,..the favourite, Shakspeare, following very close to him until they got to the Abingdon mile bottom, when he came abreast.

1900 J. Conrad Lord Jim xii. 145 Not a sound was heard when the gunboat ranged abreast.

1945 Auk Jan. 106 They would appear as mere specks far to the southwest of the place where I was standing, come abreast rapidly, and then disappear to the northeast.

2007 Sunday Times (Perth, Austral.) (Nexis) 9 Dec. We almost managed to overtake her, but they got the spinnaker out of the water just as we drew abreast.

2. Nautical. With reference to the disposition of a squadron or other group of ships: with the vessels parallel to one another (usually evenly spaced) in a line at right angles to the direction of travel. Frequently in line abreast. Also in extended use (chiefly Military).

ΚΠ

1599 T. Nashe Lenten Stuffe sig. B3 Sixe hundreth reasonable barkes and vesselles of good burden..it hath giuen shelter to at once in her harbour, and most of them riding abrest before the Key betwixt the Bridge and the Southgate.

1670 S. Clarke True & Faithful Acct. Four Chiefest Plantations Eng. in Amer. 28 Its a safe and pleasant Harbour within, having but one secure entrance, and that no broader than for three Ships to enter abreast.

1707 London Gaz. No. 4380/2 The Commadore made a Signal for the Line a-breast.

1763 J. Entick Gen. Hist. Late War I. i. 450 They might have come up as near the enemy, as if they had bore in a line of battle abreast.

1817 J. Mill Hist. Brit. India II. iv. iv. 144 The English, having the wind, came down a-breast.

1840 R. H. Dana Two Years before Mast xxix. 350 The California had got under weigh at the same moment; and we sailed down the narrow bay abreast.

1874 F. G. D. Bedford Sailor's Pocket Bk. i. 18 A Column means any number of ships in a distinct group, whether in line ahead, abreast, or otherwise.

1943 C. Graves Seven Pilots 133 Kit..ordered his section to fly line abreast. Sure enough, one Spitfire was travelling very low with another wheeling behind and above him.

1991 Jrnl. Hellenic Stud. 111 197/2 The phrase epi keras..indicates the movement of a group of ships in line ahead from a starting formation of line abreast.

3. abreast of (also with).

a. In or into a position with respect to (another person or thing) such that the two are lying or travelling abreast (sense A. 1a); alongside of; in parallel with.

ΚΠ

1635 W. Barriffe Mil. Discipl. xxxvii. 104 The three next men behind him, move forwards to the left of each other; untill they ranke even a brest with their file-leader.

1694 Narbrough's Acct. Several Late Voy. 71 I was abrest of Cape-Holland; near which lies Cape Coventry and Andrew's Bay.

1748 B. Robins & R. Walter Voy. round World by Anson iii. vi. 350 We were a-breast of a chain of Islands.

1767 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy IX. xxv. 101 Facing about, he march'd up abreast with her to the sopha.

1790 W. Bligh Narr. Mutiny on Bounty 74 The high cape which we were abreast of yesterday noon.

1834 F. Marryat Jacob Faithful I. vi. 107 The tide was about three-quarters ebb, when the barge arrived abreast of Millbank.

1886 R. C. Praed Miss Jacobsen's Chance I. x. 205 [He] checked his horse and fell abreast of her.

1902 E. Glasgow Battle-Ground (2000) ii. iv. 136 Dan, who had ridden on at Champe's first words, did not even turn his head when the three came abreast with him.

1930 W. Faulkner As I lay Dying lii. 155 He is abreast of the white man, who has paused.

1961 D. Wood & D. Dempster Narrow Margin 19 The airship came abreast of Bawdsey and turned north towards the Wash.

1994 D. Guterson Snow falling on Cedars iv. 33 The man who'd been cut off by another man up tide might motor abreast of the interloper in order to shake a gaff at him.

b. figurative. (So as to be) on equal terms with, not bettered by; not overwhelmed by, ‘on top of’; (in later use esp.) up to date with, informed about. Frequently to keep abreast of.

ΚΠ

1642 T. Fuller Holy State iii. xxv. 232 More learning would be of more pains, and the same profit, seeing the mediocriter goeth abreast with optime.

a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Shrop. 9 Though some conceive him to be as much beneath a Poet, as above a Rhimer, in my opinion his Verses may go abreast with any of that age.

1832 W. Scott Redgauntlet (new ed.) I. p. xxi The compromises by which they endeavoured to keep themselves abreast of the current of the day.

1845 J. R. Lowell Pres. Crisis in Wks. (1879) 671 They must upward still, and onward, Who would keep abreast of truth.

1850 E. B. Bryan Rightful Remedy 76 With the general government cruelly oppressing her [sc. the South],..the only wonder is that she has been able to keep breast with other nations.

1860 S. Smiles Self-help (new ed.) iii. 59 Nothing else could have enabled him to keep abreast with the flood of communications that poured in.

1897 B. Stoker Dracula xx. 274 I had written my diary so far, and simply read it off to them as the best means of letting them get abreast of my own information.

1930 Musical Times 71 559/1 Like so many Italian composers, Verdi regarded himself primarily as a craftsman whose duty it was to keep himself abreast with the times.

1963 J. N. Jackson Surv. Town & Country Planning ii. 33 The problems of keeping abreast with current knowledge and thought in a new discipline are particularly difficult.

1991 Hindu (Madras) 6 Dec. 7/1 The private sector may soon get into all areas of the Indian Railways as part of the endeavour of the organisation to keep abreast with the changes in the economy.

2005 E. Barr Plan B (2006) xvii. 184 Bella had managed to keep me vaguely abreast of fashion by taking me shopping with her and kitting me out.

c. Nautical. With reference to direction within board: directly to port or starboard of, rather than afore or abaft. Cf. abeam adv.

ΚΠ

1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine (at cited word) The frigate sprung a leak abreast of the main hatch-way, i.e. on the same line with the main hatch-way, crossing the ship's length at right angles.

1850 H. Melville White-jacket lxxiv. 368 One afternoon, I was walking with him along the gun-deck, when he paused abreast of the main-mast.

1869 Daily News 10 Dec. The Monarch will display..the American ensign abreast of the foretopmast crosstrees.

1904 J. Conrad Nostromo iii. x. 418 All he discovered was a brown stain on the gunwale abreast of the thwart.

1994 P. C. Bolger Boats with Open Mind x. 382 The lugsail can be converted into a near-squaresail..by bringing the tack to the deck edge abreast of the mast and poling out the clew.

B. prep.

To the side of, alongside, beside; (Nautical) directly to port or starboard of, rather than afore or abaft (cf. sense A. 3c).

ΚΠ

1685 B. Ringrose Bucaniers Amer. iv. xii. 76 About four in the evening we came abreast the Cape.

a1750 A. Hill Rom. Revenge (1753) i. vi. 17 When fed the lab'ring Ox, abreast the Lion?

1781 Ship Queen 3 in A. Dalrymple Coll. Views & Plans E.-Indies Sent the Cutter with Mr. Jordan..and a Chinaman..to the Island abreast the Ship.

1834 F. Marryat Jacob Faithful II. x. 239 [We] were soon abreast and close to the wherry, pulling with us down the stream.

1857 R. Tomes Americans in Japan xv. 356 The Island of Ohosima, about two miles distant abreast the ships.

1895 Argosy Dec. 207/1 There were the British before him, almost abreast the gate.

1976 P. Kemp Oxf. Compan. Ships & Sea 3/1 When a vessel is abreast, say, a lightship, then the lightship is abeam of her.

1989 M. Warner Lost Father (BNC) 86 He came abreast her, and smiled, showing his disconcerting teeth.

2000 Times (Nexis) 13 Apr. A ‘Betty’ bomber..crashed accurately on to Formidable's flight deck abreast the island, destroying all the aircraft parked on deck.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	abreast
释义	abreastadv.prep. Brit. /əˈbrɛst/, U.S. /əˈbrɛst/ Forms: see a- prefix³ and breast n. Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: a prep.¹, breast n. Etymology: < a prep.¹ + breast n. A. adv. 1. a. Side by side and facing or moving in the same direction. Cf. breast n. 9.Frequently with preceding numeral indicating the number of individuals so aligned, forming an adverbial phrase (sometimes also used attributively, usually hyphenated).Quot. a1450 may show earlier currency of this sense, although it would be an isolated Middle English attestation and it seems more likely to be evidence for the prepositional construction on a breast: see breast n. 9. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > state or position of being parallel > [adjective] > abreast of each other abreast1567 side by side1833 the world > space > relative position > state or position of being parallel > [adverb] > abreast side by sidec1275 beside1340 afronta1425 side to side?c1450 sidelingsa1540 abreast1567 evenly1583 breastwise1613 fair1685 sidelong1803 sidlingly1859 a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich Hist. Holy Grail xx. l. 271 (MED) Owt they Comen Al On Abrest.] 1567 J. Maplet Greene Forest ii. f. 68^v They [sc. cranes] flie two a breast. 1600 J. Pory tr. J. Leo Africanus Geogr. Hist. Afr. iii. 113 The winding staires were somewhat larger, insomuch that three horses a-breast might well ascend vp. 1612 J. Smith Map of Virginia 27 These as enimies tooke their stands a musket shot one from another; ranked themselues 15 a breast and each ranke from another 4 or 5 yards. a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) iv. vi. 17 My soule shall thine keepe company to heauen: Tarry (sweet soule) for mine, then flye a-brest . View more context for this quotation 1675 London Gaz. No. 1001/2 The Mines succeeded very well, and made a breach, that 16 Men might enter a-breast. 1708 J. M. Deane Jrnl. Campaign Flanders 28 Aug. (1846) 22 Ye way bad, with narrow bridges and close lanes so that but one or 2 could pas abreast. 1761 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy IV. xxv. 161 Corporal Trim and Obadiah, upon two coach-horses a-breast, led the way. 1808 M. Wilmot Jrnl. 16 Aug. (1934) iii. 363 We..set off in the Dormeuse 4 horses abreast & two before. 1855 J. E. Bradfield Public Carriages Great Brit. vii. 35 Glasgow omnibuses, with their three-abreast horses. 1879 J. A. Froude Cæsar xiv. 205 A pass..so narrow that but two carts could go abreast along it. 1928 M. de la Roche Whiteoaks (1929) xii. 157 Four girls approached abreast, wearing French heels and flesh-coloured stockings. 1952 H. E. Bates Love for Lydia (1956) i. iii. 28 Down the footpath there was no room for us to walk abreast and I felt it polite to walk ahead of her. 1972 J. Irving Water-Method Man (1980) xxvi. 251 Three policemen came down the hall abreast, in step. 1998 D. K. Cameron Eng. Fairs i. 8 His carousels had gallopers..three and occasionally four abreast. b. Into this alignment with respect to something or someone; alongside. Cf. sense A. 3a. ΚΠ 1807 Gentleman's Mag. June 549/1 A halt was necessary,..to give time to the batteaux, laden with provisions, to come abreast. 1827 Times 18 Apr. 2/5 The Alderman came in front,..the favourite, Shakspeare, following very close to him until they got to the Abingdon mile bottom, when he came abreast. 1900 J. Conrad Lord Jim xii. 145 Not a sound was heard when the gunboat ranged abreast. 1945 Auk Jan. 106 They would appear as mere specks far to the southwest of the place where I was standing, come abreast rapidly, and then disappear to the northeast. 2007 Sunday Times (Perth, Austral.) (Nexis) 9 Dec. We almost managed to overtake her, but they got the spinnaker out of the water just as we drew abreast. 2. Nautical. With reference to the disposition of a squadron or other group of ships: with the vessels parallel to one another (usually evenly spaced) in a line at right angles to the direction of travel. Frequently in line abreast. Also in extended use (chiefly Military). ΚΠ 1599 T. Nashe Lenten Stuffe sig. B3 Sixe hundreth reasonable barkes and vesselles of good burden..it hath giuen shelter to at once in her harbour, and most of them riding abrest before the Key betwixt the Bridge and the Southgate. 1670 S. Clarke True & Faithful Acct. Four Chiefest Plantations Eng. in Amer. 28 Its a safe and pleasant Harbour within, having but one secure entrance, and that no broader than for three Ships to enter abreast. 1707 London Gaz. No. 4380/2 The Commadore made a Signal for the Line a-breast. 1763 J. Entick Gen. Hist. Late War I. i. 450 They might have come up as near the enemy, as if they had bore in a line of battle abreast. 1817 J. Mill Hist. Brit. India II. iv. iv. 144 The English, having the wind, came down a-breast. 1840 R. H. Dana Two Years before Mast xxix. 350 The California had got under weigh at the same moment; and we sailed down the narrow bay abreast. 1874 F. G. D. Bedford Sailor's Pocket Bk. i. 18 A Column means any number of ships in a distinct group, whether in line ahead, abreast, or otherwise. 1943 C. Graves Seven Pilots 133 Kit..ordered his section to fly line abreast. Sure enough, one Spitfire was travelling very low with another wheeling behind and above him. 1991 Jrnl. Hellenic Stud. 111 197/2 The phrase epi keras..indicates the movement of a group of ships in line ahead from a starting formation of line abreast. 3. abreast of (also with). a. In or into a position with respect to (another person or thing) such that the two are lying or travelling abreast (sense A. 1a); alongside of; in parallel with. ΚΠ 1635 W. Barriffe Mil. Discipl. xxxvii. 104 The three next men behind him, move forwards to the left of each other; untill they ranke even a brest with their file-leader. 1694 Narbrough's Acct. Several Late Voy. 71 I was abrest of Cape-Holland; near which lies Cape Coventry and Andrew's Bay. 1748 B. Robins & R. Walter Voy. round World by Anson iii. vi. 350 We were a-breast of a chain of Islands. 1767 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy IX. xxv. 101 Facing about, he march'd up abreast with her to the sopha. 1790 W. Bligh Narr. Mutiny on Bounty 74 The high cape which we were abreast of yesterday noon. 1834 F. Marryat Jacob Faithful I. vi. 107 The tide was about three-quarters ebb, when the barge arrived abreast of Millbank. 1886 R. C. Praed Miss Jacobsen's Chance I. x. 205 [He] checked his horse and fell abreast of her. 1902 E. Glasgow Battle-Ground (2000) ii. iv. 136 Dan, who had ridden on at Champe's first words, did not even turn his head when the three came abreast with him. 1930 W. Faulkner As I lay Dying lii. 155 He is abreast of the white man, who has paused. 1961 D. Wood & D. Dempster Narrow Margin 19 The airship came abreast of Bawdsey and turned north towards the Wash. 1994 D. Guterson Snow falling on Cedars iv. 33 The man who'd been cut off by another man up tide might motor abreast of the interloper in order to shake a gaff at him. b. figurative. (So as to be) on equal terms with, not bettered by; not overwhelmed by, ‘on top of’; (in later use esp.) up to date with, informed about. Frequently to keep abreast of. ΚΠ 1642 T. Fuller Holy State iii. xxv. 232 More learning would be of more pains, and the same profit, seeing the mediocriter goeth abreast with optime. a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Shrop. 9 Though some conceive him to be as much beneath a Poet, as above a Rhimer, in my opinion his Verses may go abreast with any of that age. 1832 W. Scott Redgauntlet (new ed.) I. p. xxi The compromises by which they endeavoured to keep themselves abreast of the current of the day. 1845 J. R. Lowell Pres. Crisis in Wks. (1879) 671 They must upward still, and onward, Who would keep abreast of truth. 1850 E. B. Bryan Rightful Remedy 76 With the general government cruelly oppressing her [sc. the South],..the only wonder is that she has been able to keep breast with other nations. 1860 S. Smiles Self-help (new ed.) iii. 59 Nothing else could have enabled him to keep abreast with the flood of communications that poured in. 1897 B. Stoker Dracula xx. 274 I had written my diary so far, and simply read it off to them as the best means of letting them get abreast of my own information. 1930 Musical Times 71 559/1 Like so many Italian composers, Verdi regarded himself primarily as a craftsman whose duty it was to keep himself abreast with the times. 1963 J. N. Jackson Surv. Town & Country Planning ii. 33 The problems of keeping abreast with current knowledge and thought in a new discipline are particularly difficult. 1991 Hindu (Madras) 6 Dec. 7/1 The private sector may soon get into all areas of the Indian Railways as part of the endeavour of the organisation to keep abreast with the changes in the economy. 2005 E. Barr Plan B (2006) xvii. 184 Bella had managed to keep me vaguely abreast of fashion by taking me shopping with her and kitting me out. c. Nautical. With reference to direction within board: directly to port or starboard of, rather than afore or abaft. Cf. abeam adv. ΚΠ 1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine (at cited word) The frigate sprung a leak abreast of the main hatch-way, i.e. on the same line with the main hatch-way, crossing the ship's length at right angles. 1850 H. Melville White-jacket lxxiv. 368 One afternoon, I was walking with him along the gun-deck, when he paused abreast of the main-mast. 1869 Daily News 10 Dec. The Monarch will display..the American ensign abreast of the foretopmast crosstrees. 1904 J. Conrad Nostromo iii. x. 418 All he discovered was a brown stain on the gunwale abreast of the thwart. 1994 P. C. Bolger Boats with Open Mind x. 382 The lugsail can be converted into a near-squaresail..by bringing the tack to the deck edge abreast of the mast and poling out the clew. B. prep. To the side of, alongside, beside; (Nautical) directly to port or starboard of, rather than afore or abaft (cf. sense A. 3c). ΚΠ 1685 B. Ringrose Bucaniers Amer. iv. xii. 76 About four in the evening we came abreast the Cape. a1750 A. Hill Rom. Revenge (1753) i. vi. 17 When fed the lab'ring Ox, abreast the Lion? 1781 Ship Queen 3 in A. Dalrymple Coll. Views & Plans E.-Indies Sent the Cutter with Mr. Jordan..and a Chinaman..to the Island abreast the Ship. 1834 F. Marryat Jacob Faithful II. x. 239 [We] were soon abreast and close to the wherry, pulling with us down the stream. 1857 R. Tomes Americans in Japan xv. 356 The Island of Ohosima, about two miles distant abreast the ships. 1895 Argosy Dec. 207/1 There were the British before him, almost abreast the gate. 1976 P. Kemp Oxf. Compan. Ships & Sea 3/1 When a vessel is abreast, say, a lightship, then the lightship is abeam of her. 1989 M. Warner Lost Father (BNC) 86 He came abreast her, and smiled, showing his disconcerting teeth. 2000 Times (Nexis) 13 Apr. A ‘Betty’ bomber..crashed accurately on to Formidable's flight deck abreast the island, destroying all the aircraft parked on deck. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < adv.prep.1567
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