Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - backhand

 I. noun  Date: 1657  1.  a. a stroke (as in tennis) made with the back of the hand turned in the direction of movement; also the side on which such strokes are made  b. a catch (as in baseball) made to the side of the body opposite the hand being used  2. handwriting whose strokes slant downward from left to right  II. adjective  Date: 1695 made with a ~ a ~ tennis stroke  III. adverb  or ~ed  Date: 1889 with a ~  IV. transitive verb  Date: circa 1935 to do, hit, or catch ~