Arrear

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /əˈɹɪə/
• Rhymes: -ɪə(ɹ)

Origin

From Old French arere, ariere, from Vulgar Latin ad retro ("to the rear").

Full definition of arrear

Adverb

1. (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 ....
2. (obsolete) Behind time; overdue. 15th-19th c.
• 1803, Edward Hyde East, Reports of cases Argued and determined in the Court of King's Bench, London 1814, vol. 3, p. 559:In case the annuity should be arrear for sixty days being lawfully demanded, then the trustee might enter upon the premises assigned ....

Noun

1. Work to be done, obligation.I have a large arrear of letters to write. -- J. D. Forbes.My own work, with its manifold arrears, took me all day to clear off. -- Stoker, Dracula
2. Unpaid debt.