▪ I. † bac1 Obs. rare—1.
[App. a corrupt form. Cf. OE. béaᵹ (ME. béȝ, beigh) and ON. baugr, ring, armilla, etc.]
A chaplet.
| c 1300 in Wright Lyric P. xxv. 70 That thou me havest ben so fre, Thy bac of thornes, thy nayles thre. |
▪ II. ‖ bac2
(bæk)
[Fr.; see also back n.2]
1. A flat-bottomed French ferry-boat; a ferry.
| 1672 Coles, Bac, a ferry. 1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp., Bac, in navigation, is used for a praam, or ferry-boat. 1867 in Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. |
[Cf. ‘St. Augustine's Back’ at Bristol.]
2. In Brewing and Distilling: see back n.2
▪ III. bac3
(bæk)
abbrev. of baccarat.
| 1906 B. von Hutten What became of Pam iii. x. 293, I know nothing so engrossing..as a game of bac. 1937 Koestler Span. Testament i. 23 At the Estoril Casino we came across..some playing bac, others trente-et-quarante. |