Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Back \Back\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Backed}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Backing}.]
   1. To get upon the back of; to mount.

            I will back him [a horse] straight.   --Shak.

   2. To place or seat upon the back. [R.]

            Great Jupiter, upon his eagle backed, Appeared to
            me.                                   --Shak.

   3. To drive or force backward; to cause to retreat or recede;
      as, to back oxen.

   4. To make a back for; to furnish with a back; as, to back
      books.

   5. To adjoin behind; to be at the back of.

            A garden . . . with a vineyard backed. --Shak.

            The chalk cliffs which back the beach. --Huxley.

   6. To write upon the back of; as, to back a letter; to
      indorse; as, to back a note or legal document.

   7. To support; to maintain; to second or strengthen by aid or
      influence; as, to back a friend. ``Parliament would be
      backed by the people.'' --Macaulay.

            Have still found it necessary to back and fortify
            their laws with rewards and punishments. --South.

            The mate backed the captain manfully. --Blackw. Mag.

   8. To bet on the success of; -- as, to back a race horse.

   {To back an anchor} (Naut.), to lay down a small anchor ahead
      of a large one, the cable of the small one being fastened
      to the crown of the large one.

   {To back the field}, in horse racing, to bet against a
      particular horse or horses, that some one of all the other
      horses, collectively designated ``the field'', will win.
      

   {To back the oars}, to row backward with the oars.

   {To back a rope}, to put on a preventer.

   {To back the sails}, to arrange them so as to cause the ship
      to move astern.

   {To back up}, to support; to sustain; as, to back up one's
      friends.

   {To back a warrant} (Law), is for a justice of the peace, in
      the county where the warrant is to be executed, to sign or
      indorse a warrant, issued in another county, to apprehend
      an offender.

   {To back water} (Naut.), to reverse the action of the oars,
      paddles, or propeller, so as to force the boat or ship
      backward.

Field \Field\, n. [OE. feld, fild, AS. feld; akin to D. veld, G.
   feld, Sw. f["a]lt, Dan. felt, Icel. fold field of grass, AS.
   folde earth, land, ground, OS. folda.]
   1. Cleared land; land suitable for tillage or pasture;
      cultivated ground; the open country.

   2. A piece of land of considerable size; esp., a piece
      inclosed for tillage or pasture.

            Fields which promise corn and wine.   --Byron.

   3. A place where a battle is fought; also, the battle itself.

            In this glorious and well-foughten field. --Shak.

            What though the field be lost?        --Milton.

   4. An open space; an extent; an expanse. Esp.:
      (a) Any blank space or ground on which figures are drawn
          or projected.
      (b) The space covered by an optical instrument at one
          view.

                Without covering, save yon field of stars.
                                                  --Shak.

                Ask of yonder argent fields above. --Pope.

   5. (Her.) The whole surface of an escutcheon; also, so much
      of it is shown unconcealed by the different bearings upon
      it. See Illust. of {Fess}, where the field is represented
      as gules (red), while the fess is argent (silver).

   6. An unresticted or favorable opportunity for action,
      operation, or achievement; province; room.

            Afforded a clear field for moral experiments.
                                                  --Macaulay.

   7. A collective term for all the competitors in any outdoor
      contest or trial, or for all except the favorites in the
      betting.

   8. (Baseball) That part of the grounds reserved for the
      players which is outside of the diamond; -- called also
      {outfield}.

   Note: Field is often used adjectively in the sense of
         belonging to, or used in, the fields; especially with
         reference to the operations and equipments of an army
         during a campaign away from permanent camps and
         fortifications. In most cases such use of the word is
         sufficiently clear; as, field battery; field
         fortification; field gun; field hospital, etc. A field
         geologist, naturalist, etc., is one who makes
         investigations or collections out of doors. A survey
         uses a field book for recording field notes, i.e.,
         measurment, observations, etc., made in field work
         (outdoor operations). A farmer or planter employs field
         hands, and may use a field roller or a field derrick.
         Field sports are hunting, fishing, athletic games, etc.

   {Coal field} (Geol.) See under {Coal}.

   {Field artillery}, light ordnance mounted on wheels, for the
      use of a marching army.

   {Field basil} (Bot.), a plant of the Mint family ({Calamintha
      Acinos}); -- called also {basil thyme}.

   {Field colors} (Mil.), small flags for marking out the
      positions for squadrons and battalions; camp colors.

   {Field cricket} (Zo["o]l.), a large European cricket
      ({Gryllus campestric}), remarkable for its loud notes.

   {Field day}.
      (a) A day in the fields.
      (b) (Mil.) A day when troops are taken into the field for
          instruction in evolutions. --Farrow.
      (c) A day of unusual exertion or display; a gala day.

   {Field driver}, in New England, an officer charged with the
      driving of stray cattle to the pound.

   {Field duck} (Zo["o]l.), the little bustard ({Otis tetrax}),
      found in Southern Europe.

   {Field glass}. (Optics)
      (a) A binocular telescope of compact form; a lorgnette; a
          race glass.
      (b) A small achromatic telescope, from 20 to 24 inches
          long, and having 3 to 6 draws.
      (c) See {Field lens}.

   {Field lark}. (Zo["o]l.)
      (a) The skylark.
      (b) The tree pipit.

   {Field lens} (Optics), that one of the two lenses forming the
      eyepiece of an astronomical telescope or compound
      microscope which is nearer the object glass; -- called
      also {field glass}.

   {Field madder} (Bot.), a plant ({Sherardia arvensis}) used in
      dyeing.

   {Field marshal} (Mil.), the highest military rank conferred
      in the British and other European armies.

   {Field mouse} (Zo["o]l.), a mouse inhabiting fields, as the
      campagnol and the deer mouse. See {Campagnol}, and {Deer
      mouse}.

   {Field officer} (Mil.), an officer above the rank of captain
      and below that of general.

   {Field officer's court} (U.S.Army), a court-martial
      consisting of one field officer empowered to try all
      cases, in time of war, subject to jurisdiction of garrison
      and regimental courts. --Farrow.

   {Field plover} (Zo["o]l.), the black-bellied plover
      ({Charadrius squatarola}); also sometimes applied to the
      Bartramian sandpiper ({Bartramia longicauda}).

   {Field spaniel} (Zo["o]l.), a small spaniel used in hunting
      small game.

   {Field sparrow}. (Zo["o]l.)
      (a) A small American sparrow ({Spizella pusilla}).
      (b) The hedge sparrow. [Eng.]

   {Field staff}> (Mil.), a staff formerly used by gunners to
      hold a lighted match for discharging a gun.

   {Field vole} (Zo["o]l.), the European meadow mouse.

   {Field of ice}, a large body of floating ice; a pack.

   {Field}, or {Field of view}, in a telescope or microscope,
      the entire space within which objects are seen.

   {Field magnet}. see under {Magnet}.

   {Magnetic field}. See {Magnetic}.

   {To back the field}, or {To bet on the field}. See under
      {Back}, v. t. -- {To keep the field}.
      (a) (Mil.) To continue a campaign.
      (b) To maintain one's ground against all comers.

   {To} {lay, or back}, {against the field}, to bet on (a horse,
      etc.) against all comers.

   {To take the field} (Mil.), to enter upon a campaign.