arrear
nounEtymology From Middle English arere, from Old French arere, from Vulgar Latin *ad retro (literally “to the rear”).
1
Work to be done, obligation.
- 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.1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula, Westminster [London]: Archibald Constable and Company, […], →OCLC:
1 more example
- 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.1960 February, R. C. Riley, “The London-Birmingham services - Past, Present and Future”, in Trains Illustrated, page 98:
2
Unpaid debt.
- fall into arrears
- I know the debt is in arrears / The dog has not been fed in years / It's even worse than it appears, but / It's alright1987, Grateful Dead, “Touch of Grey”, in In the Dark:
3
That which is in the rear or behind.
- Derived terms
- arrears