# arrear
## English
### Etymology

From Middle English arere, from Old French arere, from Vulgar Latin *ad retro (literally “to the rear”).

### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /əˈɹɪə/
* (General American) IPA: /əˈɹɪɹ/
* Audio (Southern England):(file)
* Rhymes: -ɪə(ɹ)

### Adverb

arrear (comparative more arrear, superlative most arrear)
* (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 [...].
* (obsolete) Behind time; overdue. [15th–19th c.]
** 1803, Edward Hyde East, Reports of cases Argued and determined in the Court of King's Bench, volume 3, London, published 1814, page 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)
* Work to be done, obligation.
** November 4, 1866, James David Forbes, letter to E. C. Batten
    I have a large arrear of letters to write.
** 1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula, New York, N.Y.: Modern Library, →OCLC:My own work, with its manifold arrears, took me all day to clear off.
** 1960 February, R. C. Riley, “The London-Birmingham services - Past, Present and Future”, in Trains Illustrated, page 98:After World War II it took time to clear up the arrears of track maintenance on both lines and it was not until 1953 that the L.M.R. restored any two-hour schedules, the W.R. following suit a year later.
* Unpaid debt.
    fall into arrears
** 1987, Grateful Dead (lyrics and music), “Touch of Grey”, in In the Dark:I know the debt is in arrears / The dog has not been fed in years / It's even worse than it appears, but / It's alright
* That which is in the rear or behind.

#### Translations
## Portuguese
### Etymology

Possibly from a Vulgar Latin *arredāre (“arrange, provide”), from Vandalic *rith (“advice”).

### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /a.ʁeˈa(ʁ)/ [a.heˈa(h)]
* (Brazil) IPA: /a.ʁeˈa(ʁ)/ [a.heˈa(h)]
** (São Paulo) IPA: /a.ʁeˈa(ɾ)/ [a.heˈa(ɾ)]
** (Rio de Janeiro) IPA: /a.ʁeˈa(ʁ)/ [a.χeˈa(χ)]
** (Southern Brazil) IPA: /a.ʁeˈa(ɻ)/ [a.heˈa(ɻ)]
* (Portugal) IPA: /ɐˈʁjaɾ/
* (Portugal) IPA: /ɐˈʁjaɾ/
** (Southern Portugal) IPA: /ɐˈʁja.ɾi/
* Homophone: arriar (Portugal)
* Hyphenation: ar‧re‧ar

### Verb

arrear (first-person singular present arreio, first-person singular preterite arreei, past participle arreado)
* (transitive) to harness (to place a harness on something)
    Synonym: aparelhar

#### Conjugation

$^1$Brazilian Portuguese. $^2$European Portuguese.

#### Derived terms

* arreio

## Spanish
### Etymology

Possibly from a Vulgar Latin *arredāre (“arrange, provide”), from Vandalic *rith (“advice”). Cognate with English array. Less likely from arre +‎ -ar.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /areˈaɾ/ [a.reˈaɾ]
* Rhymes: -aɾ
* Syllabification: a‧rre‧ar

### Verb

arrear (first-person singular present arreo, first-person singular preterite arreé, past participle arreado)
* to urge
* to harness
* to drive (cattle), herd

#### Conjugation

$^1$Mostly obsolete, now mainly used in legal language. $^2$Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tú form for the present subjunctive.
These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

### References

* ↑ Joan Coromines, José A[ntonio] Pascual (1983–1991) “arrear”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico [Critical Castilian and Hispanic Etymological Dictionary] (in Spanish), Madrid: Gredos

### Further reading

* “arrear”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10