To stop or arrest; to check or hinder (archaic or dialectal form).
From Old French 'arester,' related to Latin 'restare' (to stop). This is an older form of 'arrest' that reflects the word's journey from Latin through Old French into Middle English.
English used to have both 'arest' and 'arrest'—our language gradually standardized around 'arrest,' but you'd find 'arest' in Shakespeare's time!
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