arrear
/əˈɹɪɹ/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.53 in modern English
6
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
3
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Work to be done, obligation.
Example Sentences
- "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 [...]."
- "In case the annuity should be arrear for sixty days being lawfully demanded, then the trustee might enter upon the premises assigned [...]."
- "November 4, 1866, James David Forbes, letter to E. C. Batten I have a large arrear of letters to write."
- "My own work, with its manifold arrears, took me all day to clear off."
- "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."
- "fall into arrears"
Etymology
From Middle English arere, from Old French arere, from Vulgar Latin *ad retro (literally “to the rear”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /əˈɹɪɹ/
- British English: /əˈɹɪə/
Usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Finance.