To raise children or young animals until they grow up, or to stand up on hind legs (for animals).
From Old English 'raeran,' meaning to raise, set upright. The word's roots go back to Proto-Germanic *raizjan. It has multiple meanings, but all trace to the idea of raising something up.
Fun etymology quirk: 'rear' (back) and 'rear' (to raise) are completely unrelated words that happen to sound identical—one comes from Old English 'hreor' (behind), the other from Germanic 'raise.' English loves these homonyms!
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