fore-and-aft

American  

[fawr-uhnd-aft, -ahft, fohr-] / ˈfɔr əndˈæft, -ˈɑft, ˈfoʊr- /

adjective

1. located along or parallel to a line from the stem to the stern.

---

adverb

1. fore.

fore and aft Idioms  

1. Both front and back, everywhere, as in The children clung to the teacher fore and aft. This expression is nautical terminology for the bow, or front, and the stern, or back, of a vessel. Today it is also used more broadly. [First half of 1600s]

---

Etymology

Origin of fore-and-aft

First recorded in 1610–20

Example Sentences

The hatch seats and a fore-and-aft portside passenger seat form an L-shaped settee.

From Time Magazine Archive

Improvements in rigging enabled the construction of larger, more maneuverable ships with both square-rigged and fore-and-aft sails.

From Time Magazine Archive

The wave would rise through the keel and cradle the hull at its fore-and-aft point of balance.

From Time Magazine Archive

He noticed that the fore-and-aft stick movement, which raises or lowers the nose of the aircraft in flight, was slightly stiff, but he thought nothing of it at the time.

From Time Magazine Archive

The third stage vibrated quite a bit, not from side to side but with a choppy fore-and-aft motion which was felt as almost a buzz.

From "Flying to the Moon: An Astronaut's Story" by Michael Collins