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Webster 1913 Edition
Arrear
Ar-rear′
,adv.
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 taxesLocke.
For much I dread due payment by the Greeks
Of yesterday’s
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.
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.