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Webster 1913 Edition


Arrear

Ar-rear′

,
adv.
[OE.
arere
, OF.
arere
,
ariere
, F.
arrière
, fr. L.
ad
+
retro
backward. See
Rear
.]
To or in the rear; behind; backwards.
[Obs.]
Spenser.

Ar-rear′

,
Noun.
That which is behind in payment, or which remains unpaid, though due; esp. a remainder, or balance which remains due when some part has been paid; arrearage; – commonly used in the plural,
as,
arrears
of rent, wages, or taxes
.
Locke.
For much I dread due payment by the Greeks
Of yesterday’s
arrear
.
Cowper.
I have a large
arrear
of letters to write.
J. D. Forbes.
In arrear
or
In arrears
,
behind; backward; behindhand; in debt.

Webster 1828 Edition


Arrear

ARRE'AR

,
adv.
[L. ad and retro.]
Behind; at the hinder part. In this sense obsolete. But from this use, we retain the word as a noun in the phrase, in arrear, to signify behind in payment.

ARRE'AR

,
Noun.
That which is behind in payment, or which remains unpaid, though due. It is generally used in the plural, as the arrears of rent, wages and taxes; and supposes a part of the money already paid.

Definition 2024


arrear

arrear

English

Adverb

arrear (comparative more arrear, superlative most arrear)

  1. (obsolete) Towards the rear, backwards. [14th-16th c.]
    • 1591, Edmund Spenser, Virgil's Gnat, ll. 465-8:
      She, (Ladie) having well before approoved / The feends to be too cruell and severe, / Observ'd th' appointed way, as her behooved, / Ne ever did her ey-sight turne arere [...].
  2. (obsolete) Behind time; overdue. [15th-19th c.]
    • 1803, Edward Hyde East, Reports of cases Argued and determined in the Court of King's Bench, London 1814, vol. 3, p. 559:
      In case the annuity should be arrear for sixty days being lawfully demanded, then the trustee might enter upon the premises assigned [...].

Noun

arrear (plural arrears)

  1. Work to be done, obligation.
    I have a large arrear of letters to write. -- J. D. Forbes.
    My own work, with its manifold arrears, took me all day to clear off. -- Stoker, Dracula
  2. Unpaid debt.

Translations


Portuguese

Etymology

Possibly from a Vulgar Latin *arredāre (arrange, provide).

Verb

arrear (first-person singular present indicative arreio, past participle arreado)

  1. (transitive) to harness (to place a harness on something)

Conjugation

Synonyms

Derived terms


Spanish

Etymology

Cf. arre.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /areˈaɾ/

Verb

arrear (first-person singular present arreo, first-person singular preterite arreé, past participle arreado)

  1. to urge
  2. to harness
  3. to drive (cattle)

Conjugation