Aft
For the acronym, see AFT. |
The stern of a French 74-gun ship of the line. This is the after end of the vessel. |
Aft, in
naval terminology, is an
adverb meaning 'towards the
stern of the
ship', when the
frame of reference is within the ship. Example: "Able Seaman Smith; lay aft!". Or; "What's happening
aft?" Its
antonym is
forward, pronounced "forrard".
* The corresponding
adjective, in distinguishing one feature of the vessel from another is
after. See the caption to the right. Its antonym is
forward.
* The corresponding
preposition is
abaft. For example, the
mizzenmast is abaft the
mainmast. Its
antonym is
before or, in a more clumsy form,
forward of.
Aft, sometimes also describes the direction of a movement within an
aircraft; that is, towards the tail. Example: "Let's go aft."
