Etymology From a- (“in the direction of”) + beam (“keel”).
1
Nautical, Transport On the beam; at a right angle to the centerline or keel of a vessel or aircraft; being at a bearing approximately 90° or 270° relative.
We were heading S.S.W., and had a steady breeze abeam and a quiet sea.1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, “'”, in Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC, part II (The Sea Cook), page 83:
[…] waves striking the ship abeam pushed her always south of their new course, and rolled her, and filled her with water so that bailing must be ceaseless […]1968, Ursula K. LeGuin, chapter 2, in A Wizard of Earthsea, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, published 2012, page 36:
2
Nautical, Transport Alongside or abreast; opposite the center of the side of the ship or aircraft.
Etymology From a- (“in the direction of”) + beam (“keel”).
1
Nautical, Transport Alongside or abreast; opposite the center of the side of the ship or aircraft.
The island was directly abeam of us.
The sound shifted its place markedly, but without coming nearer. It even grew a little more distant right abeam of the lighter, and then ceased again.1904, Joseph Conrad, chapter 8, in Nostromo, New York: Harper, page 311:
1 more example
The attack on the abeam ship, Louisville, killed Commander Cruiser Division Four […]2005, William Thomas Generous, Sweet Pea at War: A History of USS Portland, →ISBN, page 178:
abeam
prep
Etymology From a- (“in the direction of”) + beam (“keel”).
Etymology From a- + beam (“to emit beams of light”).
1
Beaming, shining (especially with reference to a person's face or eyes).
1876, William Davidson, Sermons on the Parables, Cincinnati: Western Tract Society, Sermon 1, p. 41, […] the hearts of the saints [will] be all attention and their faces all abeam for the consolation;
[…] the waiters fly about abeam with good will and on excellent terms with those they serve […]1906, Miriam Michelson, chapter 9, in A Yellow Journalist,, New York: D. Appleton, page 199:
2 more examples
[…] since he refused to be intimidated, stage two of their introduction consisted of Sheba sitting round in attitudes of beleaguered desperation while Seeley, his face abeam with adulation, sat determinedly beside her.1970, Doreen Tovey, chapter 6, in The New Boy, Chicago: Summersdale, published 2006, page 55:
When we met for another lunch […] he was all abeam with pride as he handed me a newly minted paperback reissue of Wodehouse […]2011, Christopher Buckley, “Christopher Hitchens”, in But Enough About You: Essays, New York: Simon & Schuster, published 2014, page 227: