v. [f. BACK + -EN2; cf. lessen.]
1. trans. To put, keep, or throw back; to throw behind, retard (in progress). Rare in mod. lit.
1649. Blith, Eng. Improv. Impr. (1653), 160. Yet will it so backen them that thou mayst lose a full half years growth in them.
1750. A. Hill, Wks. (1753), IV. 361. His breast will be inflated, and majestically backen’d.
1853. Faber, All for Jesus, 55. A false doctrine … backens devotion.
1871. Napheys, Prev. & Cure Dis., III. iv. 720. Very hot vinegar applied … to a boil … will sometimes ‘backen’ it.
† 2. intr. To move or draw back. Obs.
1748. [See BACKENING vbl. sb.]
