An archaic or dialectal form meaning 'at the rear,' 'behind,' or 'in arrears'; an old variant of 'in arrear.'
From Middle English, composed of 'a-' (prefix meaning 'in' or 'at') + 'rear' (back part). The word combines Old French and Old English elements, with 'rear' coming from Old French 'arrere' (behind), and the 'a-' prefix being English.
The word 'arear' shows how English used to add 'a-' to lots of words to change their meaning—'aboard,' 'aflame,' and 'arear' are all fossils from this old grammar system.
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