† rearn.1
Obsolete.
A loud noise, as a crash, peal, cry, or roar.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > cry or shout (loudness) > [noun]
cryc1380
clamoura1382
hallowc1440
shout1487
spraich1513
routa1522
rear1567
outshout1579
shoutcry1582
hollo1598
hoot1600
hulloo?1706
halloo1707
holloa1757
bawl1792
holler1825
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > loudness > [noun] > loud sound or noise
chirma800
dina1000
utas1202
noise?c1225
nurthc1225
dinninga1400
glama1400
glavera1400
reer?a1400
reirdc1400
dunch1440
steveningc1440
rebound1457
bruit?1473
alarm1489
yell1509
gild?a1513
shout?a1513
reveriea1522
routa1522
thundering1560
rumouringc1563
dinrie?1566
rear1567
fray1568
thunder-crack1595
thunder1600
fanfarea1605
fragor1605
clamour1606
thunder-clap1610
obstrepency1623
tonitruation1658
randana1661
clarion1667
leden1674
bluster1724
salvoa1734
ding1750
row1753
tonance1778
dunder1780
chang1788
blare1807
flare1815
detonation1830
trump1848
trumpeting1850
foghorn1875
yammer1932
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > sudden or violent sound > [noun] > of thunder
thunderc1000
clapc1386
thunder-blasta1400
rout1513
thundering1526
rear1567
rounce robble hobble1582
robble1609
rouncy1616
thunder bounce1629
thunder-peal1804
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > cry or shout (loudness) > [noun] > outcry or clamour
reamOE
ropeOE
brack?c1200
utas1202
hootinga1225
berec1225
noise?c1225
ludea1275
cryc1275
gredingc1275
boastc1300
utasa1325
huec1330
outcrya1382
exclamation1382
ascry1393
spraya1400
clamourc1405
shoutingc1405
scry1419
rumourc1425
motion?a1439
bemec1440
harrowc1440
shout1487
songa1500
brunt1523
ditec1540
uproar1544
clamouring1548
outrage1548
hubbub1555
racket1565
succlamation1566
rear1567
outcrying1569
bellowing1579
brawl1581
hue and cry1584
exclaiming1585
exclaim1587
sanctus1594
hubbaboo1596
oyez1597
conclamation1627
sputter1673
rout1684
dirduma1693
hallalloo1737
yelloching1773
pillaloo1785
whillaloo1790
vocitation1819
blue murder1828
blaring1837
shilloo1842
shillooing1845
pillalooing1847
shriek1929
yammering1937
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > bad weather > thunder and lightning > [noun] > thunder > thunder-clap
denta1300
dintc1374
thunder-clapc1386
thunder-blasta1400
thunder-crackc1450
clap1509
thundering1526
rear1567
thunder bounce1629
thunder-peal1804
1567 A. Golding tr. Ovid Metamorphosis (new ed.) vii. f. 91 Of people talking in my house me thought I heard the reare.
1586 W. Warner Albions Eng. iii. xviii. 76 This skufling and confedracie in hell made such a reare, That, wontles of such braules and blowes, Proserpine did feare.
a1600 J. Melvill Autobiogr. & Diary (1842) 424 I may regrat with manie reuthfull reare [etc.].
1608 T. Hudson tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Ivdith ii. 31 in J. Sylvester Deuine Weekes & Wks. (new ed.) (At this Hebrew's prayer) such a reare Of thunder fell, that brought them all in feare.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2009; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
† rearn.3
Obsolete. rare.
That which is reared or obtained from cattle.
ΚΠ
a1617 Sir R. Owen Of Antiquity Laws Eng. xviii, in W. Raleigh Wks. (1829) VIII. 608 Fructus not only comprehends cattle, with their wool and milk, but the rear, and that which cometh from them.
a1617 Sir R. Owen Of Antiquity Laws Eng. xviii, in W. Raleigh Wks. (1829) VIII. 615 The wool, or milk, or rear of them.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2009; most recently modified version published online June 2018).
rearadj.1
/rɪə/, U.S. /rɪ(ə)r/ Now English regional. † b. As complement with verbs. Obsolete.
a. Originally only of eggs: slightly or imperfectly cooked, underdone. Also in extended use. Cf. rare adj.2 Now regional.In quot. a1450: †(of sins) unconfessed (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > cooking > [adjective] > cooked > under- or lightly-cooked
rearlOE
rare1655
zamzawed1743
al dente1940
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > cooking > [adjective] > cooked (of specific food) > eggs
rearlOE
harda1425
poachedc1450
soft-boiled1577
hard-boiled1589
rare1655
rath egg1684
in the shell1692
dropped1824
rumpled1896
lOE Prose Charm: Against Dysentery (Faust. A.x) in G. Storms Anglo-Saxon Magic (1948) 307 Þis is man sceal singan nigon syþon wiþ utsiht on an hrerenbræden æg þry dagas.
?a1200 (?OE) Peri Didaxeon (1896) 47 Nim swefles ehta peneȝa ȝewyhta and cnuca hine smale; nim þann an hrere bræd æȝ and do hyt on innan and sile hym etan [L. in ovo ductili accipiat].
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 323v Rere ȝolkes somdel yfastned beþ lasse dryinge and bettre to defye.
a1400 tr. Lanfranc Sci. Cirurgie (Ashm.) (1894) 58 (MED) Þou schalt helpe..wiþ plenteuousnes of good mete..as..rere eyren [L. ouorum sorbilium].
a1450 Castle Perseverance (1969) l. 1461 Anoþyr day þey [sc. sins] schul be rawe and rere And synke þi sowle to Satanas In gastful glowynge glede.
c1475 ( Surg. Treat. in MS Wellcome 564 f. 84 (MED) Lete him vsen..broþid chikenes and rere eggis.
1532 T. More Confut. Tyndale in Wks. 667/2 Supping of a rere roten egge.
1584 T. Cogan Hauen of Health cxciii. 151 Rere egges..that is to say litle more than through hoat.
1620 T. Middleton & W. Rowley World Tost sig. E3 Ile haue thee ram'd Into a Culuerin else, and thy reare flesh Shot all into potcht eggs.
1625 T. Middleton Game at Chæss iv. ii Can a soft rear, poor poach'd iniquity So ride vpon thy conscience?
1655 N. Culpeper et al. tr. L. Rivière Pract. Physick iv. vii. 121 Let the Patient abstain..from Wine, Flesh, and Rear Eggs.
1702 T. Tryon Way to get Wealth 73 Milk is said to dimn the sight, but Eggs poached or rear eaten with the Powder of Eye Bright are very excellent.
1731 G. Medley tr. P. Kolb Present State Cape Good-Hope I. 201 The Hottentots,..love their victuals, whether roasted or boil'd, should be very rear.
a1796 S. Pegge Two Coll. Derbicisms (1896) 118 Rear, meat underdone.
1839 C. Clark John Noakes & Mary Styles 15 The meat, 'tis nearly rear.
1882 G. F. Jackson Shropshire Word-bk. (at cited word) I can do with beef or mutton a bit rear, but veal an' pork should be done well.
1928 A. E. Pease Dict. Dial. N. Riding Yorks. 102/2 Rear, underdone, half-raw.
ΚΠ
?a1200 (?OE) Peri Didaxeon (1896) 23 Sule hym supan ȝebræddan hrere æȝeran and huniȝ to.
1528 T. Paynell tr. Arnaldus de Villa Nova in Joannes de Mediolano Regimen Sanitatis Salerni sig. F j b Poched egges are better than egges rosted hard or rere.
1542 A. Borde Compend. Regyment Helth xiii. sig. G.iii Let the egge be newe, and roste hym reare.
1607 J. Harington tr. J. de Mediolano Englishmans Docter sig. A7 Egges newly laid, are nutritiue to eat, And rosted Reere are easie to digest.
1626 G. Sandys tr. Ovid Metamorphosis viii. 167 Coole endiffe, radish, new egs rosted reare, And late-prest cheese; which earthen dishes beare.
1700 J. Dryden tr. Ovid Baucis & Philemon in Fables 159 New-laid Eggs, which Baucis busie Care Turn'd by a gentle Fire, and roasted rear.
Compounds
†With participial adjectives, as rear-boiled, rear-brede (see brede v.1), rear-dressed, rear-poached, rear-roasted, etc. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
lOEHrerenbræden [see sense a]. ?a1200Hrere bræd [see sense a].
1542 A. Borde Compend. Regyment Helth xiii. sig. G.iii Newe reare rosted egges be good in the mornynge.
1548 T. Cooper Bibliotheca Eliotæ (rev. ed.) at Ouum Sorbile ouum, a reere rosted egge.
1576 G. Baker tr. C. Gesner Newe Jewell of Health ii. f. 54v The hearbe [Eiebright]..eaten euerie day in a reare potched Egge.
1586 T. Bright Treat. Melancholie xxxix. 261 Eggs..reare dressed somwhat.
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §53 Eggs (so they be Potched, or Reare boyled).
1656 P. Heylyn Surv. Estate France 260 A dish of Egges, rear-roasted by the flame.
1722 D. Turner Art of Surg. I. v. 384 Let him be fed with thin Panada, Water and Barly-grewels, Chicken or other small Broath, Harts-horn Jelly, sometimes a rear poach'd or a new laid Egg.
1754 A. Berthelson Eng. & Danish Dict. at Rere A rere-boiled egg.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2009; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
rearadj.2n.2
/rɪə/, U.S. /rɪ(ə)r/ A. adj.2 (attributive).
1. Military and Navy. Designating or relating to a division of troops placed or moving as the last in order, or to the deployment of such troops. Frequently as rear rank (also attributive in noun phrases). †rear bataille (in quot. a1500): = rearguard n.1 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > position at the back > [adjective]
afterOE
afterwardOE
hinderc1290
hinderera1340
hinda1400
backc1490
reara1500
posterior1578
rearward1581
backwarda1616
hindsome1634
postica1638
averse1646
postern1648
postical1657
reverse1675
aft1711
retrospective1785
hindward1797
retral1822
western1829
postjacent1878
a1500 (?a1325) Otuel & Roland (1935) l. 2109 (MED) Twenty thousand charlys ladde, And also fele roulond hadde In-to the rere batayle.
1623 J. Bingham tr. Xenophon Hist. 114 I will goe and take some of the Reare Companies.
1689 Perfect. Milit. Discipl. (1691) 91 The Rear Ranks of Musketiers make Ready.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. Rear-Line, of an Army encamped, is the second Line; it lies about four or five hundred Yards Distant from the first Line.
1796 Instr. & Regulations Cavalry 125 If on a rear division.—That division will be placed... The change will then be made as on a front division.
1802 C. James New Mil. Dict. at Rear front The rear-rank-men stand where the front-rank-men ought to be.
1861 T. E. May Constit. Hist. Eng. (1863) II. viii. 83 The halting rear-rank of their own Tory followers.
1918 Stars & Stripes 19 Apr. 4/2 It remained for a humble rear rank doughboy private..to give it the brand new twist.
1974 T. P. Whitney tr. A. Solzhenitsyn Gulag Archipel. I. i. iv. 167 They were vehement in their rear-line wrath (the most intense patriotism always flourishes in the rear).
a1985 P. White With the Jocks (2003) 190 I collected six men, a Bren gun, two Sten guns and three riflemen from the rear section, and handed the Platoon over to Sgt Dickinson.
2002 P. Haythornthwaite Brit. Rifleman 1797–1815 29 When advancing, the rear-rank men passed on the right of the front-rank men, moved ten paces forward, and halted to fire.
2. gen. Placed or situated at the back; hindmost, last.
ΚΠ
1577 in A. Feuillerat Documents Office of Revels Queen Elizabeth (1908) 313 The imployment of the same is to be auswered in a Reere Accompte tobe made by Thofficers of the Revelles.
?1677 S. Primatt City & Covntry Purchaser & Builder 72 Front and rear walls in the first Story to be two Bricks and a half thick.
1777 R. Donkin Mil. Coll. 141 Pompey, reduced to fly, disguised like a peasant, rode out of the decumen or rear gate of his camp.
1860 H. Stuart Novice's or Young Seaman's Catech. (rev. ed.) 12 Why are the rear trucks taken off?.. To give the gun more elevation.
1869 W. H. Laubach U.S. Patent 86,235 1/1 This invention consists in making the frame of a velocipede in two parts, whereof one embraces the front wheel, and the other, the rear wheel, which two parts are pivoted together.
1884 Instr. Mil. Engin. (ed. 3) I. ii. 45 Choose the best men for diggers in the gun-spaces and rear-trench. The diggers in the front ditch have easier work.
1920 S. Lewis Main St. xvi. 198 Mr. Schnarken slipped a piece of custard pie into the clergyman's rear pocket.
1952 V. Canning House of Seven Flies 5 A second sailor opened the rear door of the car for him.
1995 Which? Oct. 18/2 Like all the cars on test, the rear seat split 60/40.
2005 V. Lougheed Belize 190 If you want a longer jungle hike, follow the trail to the rear entrance of the cave and back to the visitor center.
B. n.2† 4. A person who stands behind another. Obsolete. rare.
1.
a. Military and Navy. The hindmost portion of an army or fleet; that division of a force which is placed, or moves, last in order. Cf. rearguard n.1 1a, van n.2 1.In later use tending to pass into sense B. 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > hostilities at sea > navy > a naval force or fleet > [noun] > rear
rearwarda1325
arrière1602
rear1602
1602 [see Phrases 1a].
1624 J. Donne Deuotions xvi. 401 When an Army marches, the Vaunt may lodge to night, where the Reare comes not till to morrow.
1684 Scanderbeg Redivivus vi. 137 One great Detachment following the Imperial Army fell upon their Reer.
1732 T. Lediard tr. J. Terrasson Life Sethos II. x. 372 The cavalry..soon overtook the enemy's rear.
1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine Rear, a name given to the last division of a squadron, or the last squadron of a fleet.
1790 R. Beatson Naval & Mil. Mem. I. 190 Expecting that the van of the enemy would necessarily come to the assistance of their rear.
1802 C. James New Mil. Dict. Rear of an Army,..Generally the third component part of a large body of forces, which consists of an advanced guard, a main body and a rear guard.
1876 G. E. Voyle & G. de Saint-Clair-Stevenson Mil. Dict. (ed. 3) 330/1 A detachment of troops which brings up and protects the rear of an army.
1914 E. R. Burroughs Tarzan of Apes ix. 107 In the rear were a hundred warriors, similar in all respects to the advance guard.
1996 C. J. O'Brien Liberation 18 The Japanese were all around... They even infiltrated down to pack-howitzer positions in the rear of the front lines.
2004 Jrnl. Mil. Hist. 68 770 In 1761 the Cherokees seem to have used the half-moon technique to slide along the edges of the march column and then attack the rear (the rear had also been briefly attacked earlier that day).
b. figurative and in figurative context. Now rare.
ΚΠ
1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet i. iii. 35 Keepe you in the reare of your affection Out of the shot and danger of desire. View more context for this quotation
1624 J. Donne Deuotions xvi. 402 That [bell] which rung to day, was to bring him in his Reare, in his body, to the Church.
1645 J. Milton L'Allegro in Poems 32 While the Cock..Scatters the rear of darknes.
1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 1577 The first-born bloom of spring Nipt with the lagging rear of winters frost. View more context for this quotation
1726 E. Fenton in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey IV. xix. 274 The morn, new-rob'd in purple light, Pierc'd with her golden shafts the rear of night.
1773 J. Home Alonzo iii. i. 47 When sore affliction comes In the decline of life! 'tis like a storm Which in the rear of autumn shakes the tree: That frost had touch'd before; and strips it bare Of all its leaves.
1822 P. B. Shelley Hellas 18 That shatter'd flag of fiery cloud Which leads the rear of the departing day.
a1914 A. Crapsey Compl. Poems (1977) 110 A laggard in the rear of time's swift feet, And one who loiters on an aimless way.
1988 tr. T. I. Zaslavskaia in Soviet Sociol. 26 8 Let us state it bluntly: for a long time the social sciences, far from being in the vanguard, brought up the rear of society.
2.
a. The back (as opposed to the front) of an army, camp, or person. Also: the space behind or at the back, the position at or towards the back. Cf. earlier rearward n.1 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > position at the back > [noun]
rear1604
society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > part of army by position > [noun] > rear
back-wardc1275
rearwarda1325
reredosc1400
reward1440
back-guardc1470
rearguard1481
arrière-guard1489
retroguard1574
arrear-ward1579
forlorn hope1579
train1598
back1600
rear1604
1604 C. Edmondes Maner of Mod. Training in Observ. Cæsars Comm. II. 133 When the whole Battalion being in their close order should turne about & make the Rere the Front.
1651 N. Bacon Contin. Hist. Disc. Govt. 4 The King was advised to give place,..till he had tryed masteries with Scotland, and thereby secured his Rere.
1735 W. Somervile Chace iii. 536 He stands at Bay against yon knotty Trunk That covers well his Rear.
1796 Instr. & Regulations Cavalry 123 The Divisions marching through each other from Rear to Front.
1838 C. Thirlwall Hist. Greece (new ed.) IV. xxxiv. 334 The rear, as the post of danger, he claimed for Timasion and himself.
1888 P. H. Sheridan Personal Mem. II. ii. 37 Crook..conducted his command south in two parallel columns until he gained the rear of the enemy's works.
1924 T. E. Hume in H. Read Speculations 130 You start in the confusion of the fighting line, you retire from that just a little to the rear to recover.
1958 W. S. Churchill Hist. Eng.-speaking Peoples IV. xi. vi. 180 Had Hooker set his army in motion against Lee he must have driven Lee ever farther from Jackson and ever nearer to Sedgwick, who had now at length forced the heights of Fredericksburg, and, little more than eight miles away, was, with thirty thousand men, driving Early back upon Lee's rear.
2003 Irish Times (Nexis) 5 Apr. 11 Quartermaster Rob ‘Blackeye’ Jones arrived from the rear after lunch, the squadron's purveyor of supplies.
b. colloquial. The buttocks or backside of a person.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > trunk > back > buttock(s) > [noun]
flitcha700
arse-endseOE
culec1220
buttockc1300
tail1303
toutec1305
nagea1325
fundamentc1325
tail-end1377
brawna1382
buma1387
bewschers?a1400
crouponc1400
rumplec1430
lendc1440
nachec1440
luddocka1475
rearwarda1475
croupc1475
rumpc1475
dock1508
hurdies1535
bunc1538
sitting place1545
bottom?c1550
prat1567
nates1581
backside1593
crupper1594
posteriorums1596
catastrophe1600
podex1601
posterior1605
seat1607
poop1611
stern1631
cheek1639
breeka1642
doup1653
bumkin1658
bumfiddle1661
assa1672
butt1675
quarter1678
foundation1681
toby1681
bung1691
rear1716
fud1722
moon1756
derrière1774
rass1790
stern-post1810
sit-down1812
hinderland1817
hinderling1817
nancy1819
ultimatum1823
behinda1830
duff?1837
botty1842
rear end1851
latter end1852
hinder?1857
sit1862
sit-me-down1866
stern-works1879
tuchus1886
jacksy-pardy1891
sit-upon1910
can1913
truck-end1913
sitzfleisch1916
B.T.M.1919
fanny1919
bot1922
heinie1922
beam1929
yas yas1929
keister1931
batty1935
bim1935
arse-end1937
twat1937
okole1938
bahookie1939
bohunkus1941
quoit1941
patoot1942
rusty-dusty1942
dinger1943
jacksie1943
zatch1950
ding1957
booty1959
patootie1959
buns1960
wazoo1961
tush1962
1716 S. Wesley Neck or Nothing 16 Pull in thy Horns, and kiss the Rod, And while thou canst, retreat, for fear They fall once more upon thy Rear.
1796 True Briton 26 Oct. 3/3 Lord Camelford can boast of a power which rivals that of the First Lord of the Admiralty. He has made Captain Couver a yellow rear.
1807 Monthly Reg. Mar. 256 Whose Author,—as some folks will tell-ee, Has got no brains but in his belly; Or,—as some other people fear, His brains are all lodg'd in his rear.
1876 ‘M. Twain’ Adventures Tom Sawyer ii. 28 In another moment he was flying down the street with his pail and a tingling rear,..and Aunt Polly was retiring from the field with a slipper in her hand.
1956 H. Gold Man who was not with It vi. 49 You used to have some fat, some curves there. Quite a rear you used to have—quite a rear.
1995 Independent 5 Oct. (Suppl.) 32/3 The camel walk..requires that you stick your bum out at the start of a gentle sashay slowly pushing your tummy out as you move forward and ending by sticking your rear out again.
2005 C. Starr Nemesis of Garden ii. 36 All that wicker seating is hard on a man's rear.
3.
a. In general use: the back or back part of something. Also in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > position at the back > [noun] > back part or rear
hinder enda1382
back-half1408
backside1417
arse1510
rear1609
postern1611
back-enda1617
arreara1627
back1626
averse1655
posteriorsa1657
ass1700
tail-end1747
rear end1785
west side1829
arse-end1837
hindside1862
ass-end1934
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > parts and equipment of motor vehicles > [noun] > body or bodywork > rear part
rear1609
tail1928
tonneau1931
1609 T. Dekker Guls Horne-bk. sig. E3 Those boxes by the iniquity of custome, conspiracy of waiting-women and Gentlemen-Ushers.., and the couetousnes of Sharers, are contemptibly thrust into the reare.
1641 J. Jackson True Evangelical Temper iii. 191 The front, and the reare, the beginning, middle, and end of our salvation.
1714 in J. H. Temple & G. Sheldon Hist. Northfield, Mass. (1875) 134 The rear of said home-lots' fence shall have one-half of said fence to be accounted as Public Fence.
1765 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy VII. xxi. 74 He found more occasions than those of nature, to fall back to the rear of his carriage.
1823 W. Scott Quentin Durward II. xii. 280 A flock of sheep which may be..seen to assemble in the rear of an old bell-wether.
1864 Ld. Tennyson Enoch Arden in Enoch Arden, etc. 40 The ruddy square of comfortable light, Far-blazing from the rear of Philip's house, Allured him.
1936 M. Mitchell Gone with the Wind iv. xxxii. 537 The ribbons did not tie under the chin..but in the back under the massive bunch of curls which fell from the rear of the hat.
1990 E. Horowitz & S. Sahni Fund. Data Structures in Pascal (ed. 3) iii. 113 A queue is an ordered list in which all insertions take place at one end, the rear, while all deletions take place at the other end, the front.
2003 D. W. Harwood Highway/Heavy Vehicle Interaction ii. 10 At very high speeds.., drivers of heavy vehicles need to be aware that the rear of their vehicle may track to the outside, rather than the inside.
b. slang (chiefly in universities and schools). A public or communal lavatory. Also in plural, with singular agreement.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > sanitation > privy or latrine > [noun] > water-closet or lavatory > public
vespasienne1834
public lavatory1880
chalet1881
public toilet1895
rear1902
cottage1909
comfort station1923
public convenience1938
vespasian1938
facility1939
superloo1965
1902 J. S. Farmer & W. E. Henley Slang VI. i. 4/2 Rear..(University), a jakes.
1907 H. Nicolson Let. 31 Apr. in J. Lees-Milne Harold Nicolson (1980) I. ii. 29 The usual bad rears with its hook and eye lock.
1940 M. Marples Public School Slang 112 Other synonyms [for lavatories] are rears, lats..and dubs.
1946 B. Marshall George Brown's Schooldays xliii. 170 And now let's raid the rears and rout out any of the other new swine that are hiding there.
1969 Visct. Buckmaster Roundabout ii. 30 We also had to know a Latin description of the rear, which we called Foricas.
1995 L. MacNeice in G. Hekma et al. Gay Men 279 The school lavatories—or the rears, as they were called—consisted of a large shed..open at each end to the wind and rain.
ΚΠ
1851 M. Reid Scalp Hunters III. x. 125 The heads of the front rank men rested between the feet of their respective ‘rears’.
Phrases
P1. In prepositional and adverbial phrases.
a. in the rear (less frequently in rear): in the hindmost part (of an army, etc.); (hence) at or from the back, behind.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > position at the back > at the back or in the rear [phrase]
in (also at) the rearward1402
at the back ofc1430
in rear1602
in the rear1602
in (also at, on) one's rear?1624
in arrear1642
in retard1836
in back1961
1602 R. Byrchensha Discourse sig. D4 Some of his that were falne in the reare, Stroke such a terror in his foremost men, That downe goes armes and weapons in great haste.
1614 W. Raleigh Hist. World i. iii. xii. §7. 152 The horse-men..were placed in the flancks, only a troupe of the Eleans were in reare.
1654 E. Wolley tr. ‘G. de Scudéry’ Curia Politiæ 70 To leave no enemy in the rear to march after, and so to flank or offend.
1722 W. Wollaston Relig. of Nature ix. 216 Followed many times by sharp reflections and bitter penances in the rear.
1782 W. Cowper John Gilpin 235 With postboy scampering in the rear, They raised the hue and cry.
1848 H. H. Wilson Hist. Brit. India 1805–35 III. vii. 320 One division..was sent to take the stockades in rear, while another..threatened them from the front.
1852 H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin I. xvii. 280 The women..saw, far in the rear,..a party of men looming up.
1857 C. W. Younghusband Handbk. Field Service 208 If possible to take any enemy in rear, it should be done.
1901 R. Kipling Kim vi. 137 Half a mile in the rear, Kim heard a hoarse and joyful clamour rolling down on him through the thick dust.
1941 Battle of Britain Aug.–Oct. 1940 (Min. of Information) 13 Enemy bomber formations were..protected by a box of fighters, some of which flew slightly above to a flank or in rear,..and..others weaving in and out between the sub-formations of the bombers.
2005 G. Åselius Rise & Fall Soviet Navy iii. ix. 129 The Soviet forces, which were to be concentrated in the GOR with a minor reserve in the rear, were estimated as two battleships, three cruisers, [etc.].
b. in (also at, †within) (the) rear of: at the back of, behind. Also in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > position at the back > at the back of or behind [preposition]
afterOE
in (also on) the rearward of1591
in (also at, within) (the) rear of1604
on, upon the back (of)1614
back of1694
rearward1778
behind1882
in back ofa1910
1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet i. iii. 34 Feare it Ophelia,..And keepe you in the reare of your affection. View more context for this quotation
1642 R. M. Compl. Schoole of Warre sig. A3v Half of the Muskettiers to be in the Reare of the Pikes.
a1722 J. Lauder Decisions (1759) I. 14 Ordinarily Mr. Gideon was in the rear of all their [sc. witches'] dances, and beat up those that were slow.
1815 W. H. Ireland Scribbleomania 13 Slush from the ditch that's in rear of the mountain.
1886 Law Times 81 59/2 The houses were built in 1877. At the rear of them was a 9-inch sewer.
1917 E. R. Burroughs Princess of Mars xvi. 186 I grasped the sill of a second-story window which I thought to be in the rear of her apartment.
1955 W. G. Hardy Alberta Golden Jubilee Anthol. 169 One outrider holds back the team of horses fighting to be on its way. Another throws the stove in the rear of the chuckwagon.
1997 Sunday Times 26 Oct. (Sports section) 16/4 His acceleration..took him from a position at the rear of the field to ease past rivals of the highest class.
2001 B. Howard Virginia Handbk. 87 The grounds at the rear of the mansion have been restored to resemble their colonial appearance.
c. (in) front, flank, and rearand variants: in all positions, from all sides.
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1616 T. Dekker Artillery Garden sig. D Front, Reare, & File, (whether it Moues or Stands) Being like an Engine, all of Armed hands.
1641 J. Milton Of Reformation 47 Yet to give them play front, and reare, it shall be my task to prove that Episcopacy..is not only not agreeable, but tending to the destruction of Monarchy.
1692 E. Hickeringill Good Old Cause in Wks. (1716) II. 512 His Army stood in battalia, ready to fight the Enemy that had beset them Front and Rear.
1720 tr. G. Wishart Compl. Hist. Wars Scotl. 27 Lest being encompassed with so great a number, they should fall on him in the Front, Rear and Flank, he caused his Army to be drawn out.
1792 J. Belknap Foresters x. 131 The snake set up such a hiss as brought a dozen more out of their holes, who attacked the proud murderer in front, rear, and flank, and obliged him to take to his heels for safety.
1808 W. Scott Marmion vi. xxxv. 368 Front, flank, and rear, the squadrons sweep.
1891 A. Austin Human Trag. (ed. 4) i. 54 The muffled mist came trailing up the leas, Hemmed in the landscape, front, and flank, and rear.
1933 Fresno (Calif.) Bee Republican 6 Feb. From every state in the Union comes the startling news that our public schools are being assaulted front, flank and rear.
2006 Newsweek (Nexis) 3 Apr. Two squads of heavily armed troops kept watch, front, rear and flanks, rifles at the ready, and wouldn't let the group linger more than a few minutes in any place.
d. in (also at, on) one's rear: at one's back, behind one.
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the world > space > relative position > position at the back > at the back or in the rear [phrase]
in (also at) the rearward1402
at the back ofc1430
in rear1602
in the rear1602
in (also at, on) one's rear?1624
in arrear1642
in retard1836
in back1961
?1624 G. Chapman in tr. Crowne Homers Wks. Ep. Ded. ¶3 In five Battaillions randging all his Men; Bristl'd with Pikes, and flanck't with Flanckers ten; Gaue fire still in his Rere.
1653 H. Holcroft tr. Procopius Gothick Warre i. 34 in tr. Procopius Hist. Warres Justinian They began on both sides.., Vitigis and Belisarius incouraging their men in their Reares.
1725 D. Defoe Compl. Eng. Tradesman I. vi. 76 His payments may come in on his front, as fast as they go out in his rear.
1758 B. Martin Misc. Corr. (1759) II. 718/1 Behold! they fly with coward fear; See! Fred'rick follows at their rear.
1776 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall I. xi. 302 The barbarians, finding it impossible to traverse the Danube and the Roman camp, broke through the posts in their rear, which were more feebly or less carefully guarded.
1827 R. Southey Hist. Peninsular War II. 303 A plan which was impossible, unless Soult should..allow the enemy to get in his rear.
1863 A. P. Stanley Lect. Jewish Church I. v. 125 The huge mountain range which rose on their rear, and cut off their return.
1903 G. C. Lee True Hist. Civil War xiii. 338 Lee discovered that his communication with Richmond was threatened by the Union army at his rear.
1938 Foreign Service Feb. 12/3 The evening was quiet. For several hours the heavy Skodas had been firing ranging shots, but their targets were far in our rear.
1993 German Stud. Rev. 16 142 Halder certainly had no wish to undertake major operations in the eastern Mediterranean that were dependent on sea communications and that had an undefeated Russia lurking in their rear.
2006 P. Groenendijk & P. Vollard Archit. Guide Netherlands 427/2 All shops take in stock from a service road at their rear.
P2. In verbal phrases.† b. to get the rear of: to get behind. Obsolete.
a. to bring up (also close) the rear: to come last in order. Also in extended use.
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the world > movement > progressive motion > order of movement > following behind > follow behind [verb (intransitive)] > come last
to bring up (also close) the rear1613
to close the rearward1613
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > preceding or following in order > precede or follow in order [verb (intransitive)] > come last in order
to bring up (also close) the rear1613
to close the rearward1613
1613 R. Dallington Aphorismes Ciuill & Militarie 279 Knowledge, Valour, Foresight, and Authority, leade on the Van-gard of their actions with small successe, except Fortune bring vp the Reare.
1643 Sir T. Browne Religio Medici (authorized ed.) i. §58 My desires onely are..to be but the last man, and bring up the Rere in Heaven. View more context for this quotation
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis vii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 429 The warlike Aids of Horta next appear, And the cold Nursians come to close the Reer.
1717 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 17 May (1965) I. 357 The rear was clos'd by the Volunteers.
1743 A. Pope Dunciad (rev. ed.) i. 308 Let Bawdry, Billingsgate..Support his front, and Oaths bring up the rear.
1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield I. iii. 25 As the floods were not yet subsided, we were obliged to hire a guide, who trotted on before, Mr. Burchell and I bringing up the rear.
1810 Splendid Follies I. 170 Miss Betty brought up the rear in a robe of transparent japan.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. xiv. 98 Lauener was in front,..while I brought up the rear.
1898 Atlantic Monthly Apr. 504/1 The plant-droppers went ahead,..the main transplanting body followed,..and the waterer brought up the rear.
1938 Times Lit. Suppl. 15 Jan. 39/1 The woodwork follows—roofs, benches, pulpits; and then scratch-dials and aumbries, mural paintings and windows bring up the rear.
1990 A. C. Amor William Holman Hunt (new ed.) i. 23 George Jones..led the procession. Turner..brought up the rear.
2006 G. Tindal et al. Building Fluency 57 The oldest wolf took the first step... Then the other four wolf brothers trotted up the ladder, and Coyote brought up the rear.
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1653 H. Holcroft tr. Procopius Gothick Warre ii. 61 in tr. Procopius Hist. Warres Justinian Whom he directed..to get the Reare of them, and to follow at their backs.
1699 R. Cromwell Let. 25 Feb. in Eng. Hist. Rev. 13 (1898) 117 I will endeavour what I can to get the rear of her for when shee roars shee maks a terrible noise.
c. to hang on (also upon) someone's rear: to follow closely, in order to attack when the opportunity arises.
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society > armed hostility > military operations > manoeuvre > [verb (intransitive)] > other manoeuvres
shog1650
to hang on (also upon) someone's rear1667
incline1676
debouch1760
feint1854
leap-frog1920
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ii. 78 When the fierce Foe hung on our brok'n Rear Insulting. View more context for this quotation
1692 T. Fletcher Poems Several Occasions 99 The prevailing Trojans there pursue The flying Greeks; the Trojans flying here, And fierce Achilles hanging on the Rear.
1759 W. Robertson Hist. Scotl. (1817) I. iii. 209 A body of the enemy hung upon their rear.
1787 J. Barlow Vision of Columbus iii. 118 Sudden, the savage bands collect amain, Hang on the rear and sweep them o'er the plain.
1819 W. Scott Legend of Montrose ix, in Tales of my Landlord 3rd Ser. IV. 212 In case he should come to action.., he might be placed between two fires by this third army, which, at a secure distance, was to hang upon his rear.
1884 Graphic 6 Aug. 159/1 A Lancashire army of quite as great dimensions would be able to hang on his rear.
1914 Times 16 Nov. 10/4 All that day and the next the Sixth Division, which had relieved the Cavalry at Klip Drift, hung upon his rear.
Compounds
C1.
a. With the sense ‘towards the rear’.
rear-directed adj.
ΚΠ
1855 R. C. Singleton tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. I. 147 Trusting in flight and rear-directed shafts.
1992 H. L. Hartman et al. SME Mining Engin. Handbk. (ed. 2) I. xi. 1005/2 Tests have shown dramatic decreases in the number of frictional ignitions on shearer drums with the use of rear-directed water sprays.
2003 R. B. Waterhouse Microstrip Patch Antennas vi. 306 The concepts for cancellation of rear directed radiation..are applied to dual polarized antennas.
rear-facing adj.
ΚΠ
1889 New York Rep. 114 612 The two rear facing seats were not full at the time in question.
1962 Music Educators Jrnl. 49 76/1 The purpose for the rear facing bell was to send the music back to the army behind them.
2004 T. E. M. Bird What Herald Angels Sang 534 Gideon gurgled to her from his rear-facing infant carrier.
b. With the sense ‘from the rear’.
(a)
rear-drive adj. and n.
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1904 A. L. Dyke Anat. Automobile 441 The rear drive of Type VIII is a combination bevel and spur gear device, with a spur compensating gear.
1972 Country Life 26 Oct. 1060/3 The rack and pinion steering is responsive yet without quite the feel of a rear-drive car.
1998 Automotive Engineer June 27/2 Like its rivals..32-valve V8 LS have classic rear drive and bristle with high-technology features.
2005 Car & Driver Aug. 103/3 The major problem with rear drive for a chassis-replacement camera car is the on-camera vehicle buck.
rear-driven adj. now historical
ΚΠ
1889 Chambers's Encycl. (new ed.) III. 638/2 The types of machines in current use are the ordinary bicycle, the dwarf rear-driven safety bicycle or some modification thereof, the front-steered tricycle, [etc.].
1971 National Geographic Jan. 21 Java's tricycle taxis—rear-driven pedicabs called betjaks—also haul freight through city streets.
1994 N. Clayton Early Bicycles (Shire Album No. 173) 14/2 After 1885, the runaway success of the Rover rear-driven safeties began to affect the sales of Ordinaries.
rear-driving adj.
ΚΠ
1887 Times 5 Sept. 7/4 The section should be mounted, if possible, upon machines of one type, the preference being given to rear-driving safety bicycles.
1896 A. Sharp Bicycles & Tricycles xiv. 156 A ‘Geared Facile’ rear-driving bicycle, the usual sun-and-planet gear being modified to suit the altered conditions.
1994 N. Clayton Early Bicycles (Shire Album No. 173) 27/1 With the introduction of rear-driving safety bicycles in about 1886 came the safety (oil) head lamp.
rear entry n. and adj.
ΚΠ
1852 L. F. Allen Rural Archit. v. 139 From the rear entry opens a door to the kitchen, passing by the rear chamber stairs.
1995 Daily Mail Holiday Action Summer 37/1 The company which pioneered rear-entry boots when it entered the market in 1979 has finally consigned them to the scrap heap.
1999 J. Burchill Married Alive xiii. 189 They think it's smart to come up behind you and suggest rear-entry sex.
2000 Pop. Sci. Aug. 85/1 A rear entry that is capped by a lifting, sloping glass cover and a pickup-style tailgate.
rear-lit adj.
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1961 20th Century Feb. 124 Rear-lit cloths become more common [in the theatre].
1995 W. Barfield & T. A. Furness Virtual Environm. xiv. 560 The large rear-lit projection screen allows an extremely wide field of view for augmented-reality applications.
2003 E. Ziter Orient on Victorian Stage 19 The use of rear-lit transparencies, colored plates and gauze, and panoramic pictures in this show all precipitated later practice.
rear steering adj. and n.
ΚΠ
1883 H. Sturmey Tricyclists' Indispensable Ann. 130 This machine is a rear steering double driver, of somewhat better design than usual.
1888 Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 559/2 The evil of rear-steering is only reduced, not removed.
1991 V. A. W. Hillier Fund. Motor Vehicle Technol. (ed. 4) iv. 332 Honda uses mechanical rear steering whereas the Mazda arrangement has a rear ‘gearbox’ that is both power-assisted and electronically controlled.
2004 D. G. Wilson & J. Papadopoulos Bicycling Sci. (ed. 3) viii. 304 Rear steering would make the rear contact the more controllable one, but a rear-steering bicycle is nearly impossible to ride fast.
(b)
rear-illuminate v.
ΚΠ
1970 Nature 19 Dec. 1217/1 A number of test-areas in the form of circular holes in a metal plate are uniformly rear-illuminated to a supra-threshold luminance.
1992 C. S. Vikram Particle Field Hologr. xi. 233 The retroreflector is used to rear illuminate the scene volume and a large aperture relay lens brings the scene closer to the recording plane.
rear-light v.
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1974 G. Millerson Basic TV Staging 125 Rear-lighting the scrim increases overall mistiness and silhouettes any details on its surface.
2005 S. C. Biesen Blackout v. 133 A silhouetted couple meeting in jail, rear-lit via a single barred window.
rear-project v.
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1973 Jrnl. Genetic Psychol. 122 255 The stimuli..were rear-projected onto a 27·9 cm2 opaque glass screen.
1997 R. Pillbrow Stage Lighting Design vi. 101 Most ingeniously, another battery of projectors could rear-project on the ‘wall’ surrounding them.
2005 R. Morton King Kong ii. 40 The main challenge..was to develop an acceptable screen on which to rear project the image.
c. With the sense ‘at the rear’.
rear-engined adj.
ΚΠ
1930 Automobile Engineer Oct. 353/2 Activity in connection with the rear-engined car of streamline type is to-day more widespread than the majority of automobile engineers and designers would have anticipated.
1976 P. R. White Planning for Public Transport iii. 56 The higher maintenance costs and poorer availability of the rear-engined models.
2005 Daily Tel. 23 Nov. 23/2 Who, apart from a rear-engined, front-booted Volkswagen Beetle owner, would want to reverse into a supermarket parking space?
rear-mounted adj.
ΚΠ
1908 J. B. Davidson & L. W. Chase Farm Machinery & Farm Motors xxi. 452 When the boiler is rear-mounted it is obvious that more of the weight is thrown upon the front wheels, which act as a guide, than when the boiler is side-mounted.
1975 Drive New Year 102/2 The protesting chatter from the air-cooled rear-mounted engine is more a symptom of asthma than mechanical stress.
2003 Which? May 20/2 For many rear-mounted and tow ball carriers, you also need to buy a trailer board to display lights and number plate.
C2. † rear man n. Nautical Obsolete (in a gun crew) the person who is placed farthest from a ship's side.
rear commodore n. (also with capital initials) a person holding the rank below vice commodore, esp. in a yacht club.
ΚΠ
1817 Gentleman's Mag. Apr. 319/2 As the Commodore advances..to the rank of Rear-Admiral, so shall..the Rear-Commodore become Vice-Commodore, and the Sub-Commodore become Rear-Commodore.
1841 Sporting Rev. Sept. 210 Rear Commodore Captain Bulkeley..sailed for Cowes on Wednesday, where the Cynthia contends for the Queen's Cup, on the 17th.
2006 R. J. Hutto Their Gilded Cage 21 Barron..was elected rear commodore of the Seawanhaka and Corinthian Yacht Clubs.
rear crew n. U.S. the group of loggers that manages the rear of a log drive, freeing stranded logs to rejoin the main stream.
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the world > food and drink > farming > forestry or arboriculture > lumbering > [noun] > transport of logs > one who
rafter1741
driver1825
river-driver1825
rear crew1851
loadera1862
skidder1870
floater1889
river hog1902
river rat1905
boom-man1908
river pig1908
rearing crew1944
1851 J. S. Springer Forest Life & Forest Trees iii. ii. 161 The rear crew, on coming up, stimulated by the prank, knock away the props, and throw it down.
1902 S. E. White in McClure's Mag. Sept. 418/1 Men in the rear crew had to see that every last log got into the current.
1977 T. F. Waters Streams & Rivers Minnesota xii. 205 At the tail of the drive was the rear crew.., prodding and pulling stray logs out of flood-inundated swamps back into the main current.
rear cut n. attributive designating a mower having a cutting bar in the rear of its carriage.
ΚΠ
1871 Coshocton (Ohio) Age 12 May 3/5 (advt.) We have the choice of all first-class Reapers and Mowers—front cut with Dropper and rear cut with Dropper and Self-Rake—which is worthy the attention of the Farmer.
a1877 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. II. 1488/1 Another distinction..is the position of the cutter-bar in point of degree of advancement relatively to the driving-wheels. These positions are known as front-cut, center-cut, rear-cut; that is, before the driving-wheel, even with the axle, rearward of the driving-wheel.
1944 Chillicothe (Missouri) Constit.-Tribune 7 July 7/2 (advt.) Rear Cut Agriculture Mower for Ford tractor with Fergson System.
rear driver n. (originally) a bicycle driven by means of the rear wheel; a motor vehicle in which the engine provides power to the rear wheels.
ΚΠ
1887 Eng. Mechanic & World of Sci. 1 Apr. 113/3 If some such driving gear were fitted to a rear-driver, the wheels could be brought in 5in. or 6in. closer together, and therefore the handles..5in. or 6in. nearer the seat.
1897 Earl of Suffolk et al. Encycl. Sport I. 288/2 Osmond at his best on the Ordinary was riding when the rear-driver began to establish itself as a racing cycle.
1993 J. Forester Effective Cycling (ed. 6) vi. 72 Lawson's next bicycle design, in 1879, was a chain-driven, geared-up, rear-driver ‘safety’, which was the obvious precursor of the modern safety bicycle.
2002 D. Alexander High Perf. Handling Handbk. iv. 51/3 A front driver has a bigger problem than a rear driver because weight transfer during acceleration is off the front tires.
rear echelon n. Military (in later use chiefly U.S., freq. depreciative) the section of a military unit located farthest from active combat; esp. one concerned with support or administrative duties; cf. REMF n.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > branch of army > [noun] > administration and supply branches
baggage1603
field train1692
Corps of Wagoners1802
wagon-corps1810
subsistence department1820
baggage-train1841
rear echelon1852
Control Department1867
Army Service Corps1869
A.S.C.1871
pay corps1876
Q1916
echelon1922
1852 H. Jervis-White-Jervis Man. Field Operations ii. ii. 256 The men, when near the enemy, should be divided into two or three sections, which should..echelon one another; the worst mounted men being placed in the rear echelon.
1917 Chicago Tribune 18 Aug. 4/2 In the irresistible assault the foremost enemy troops were overpowered and his rear echelons were thrown back.
2004 New Yorker 8 Mar. 66/2 Field soldier-medics like Brown and Blohm get the same level of training that used to be reserved for rear-echelon sergeant-medics.
rear gunner n. a member of the crew of a military aircraft who operates a gun from a compartment or turret at the rear of the aircraft.
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society > armed hostility > hostilities in the air > airman > [noun] > aircrew with specific duties
observer1870
strafer1915
air gunner1916
air bomber1918
gunner1918
rear gunner1918
bombardier1932
bomb-aimer1935
tail gunner1939
tail-end Charlie1941
arse-end Charlie1942
waist-gunner1942
spotter pilot1944
1918 Washington Post 22 May 1/3 Guynemer used his regular tactics and the enemy waited until he was within range. The rear gunner then appeared at the top rear porthole.
1944 ‘N. Shute’ Pastoral i. 3 He had developed into a very good rear-gunner in the Wimpey.
2004 A. Levy Small Island xxvii. 296 Arthur looked up at me and winked. It was meant only for me but nothing could get past this RAF man—he was a rear-gunner, after all.
rear lamp n. = rear light n.
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society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > parts and equipment of motor vehicles > [noun] > other exterior lights
side lamp1780
brake light1853
running light1863
spotlight1875
rear lamp1884
spotlamp1900
sidelight1906
parking lamp1926
parking light1927
reversing lamp1927
stop light1930
pass light1938
pass lamp1948
stop lamp1959
parker1967
1884 N.Y. Times 5 May 5/2 Both the front and rear lamps of a street car went out for want of oil.
1892 A. M. Wellington et al. Compar. Merits Var. Syst. Car Lighting 269 (note) Conductor and porter said rear lamp in coach did not work well before leaving Savannah.
1907 Westm. Gaz. 17 Sept. 4/2 When the compulsory carrying of rear-lamps has been suggested the proposal has always been violently resisted.
1992 Car Feb. 33/1 A five door hatch with a big heavy tailgate, full-width rear lamps and a third side window.
2003 Orig. MGA 83 (caption) The 1600-type rear lamp and separate flashing indicator on the larger plinth, found on the 1500 and early Twin Cam.
rear light n. a (usually red) light at the rear of a vehicle to serve as a warning in the dark (often one of a pair).
ΚΠ
1860 Janesville (Wisconsin) Democrat 28 Sept. The passenger train was behind time and had no rear light, while the regulations always require a red light to be displayed at the rear of the train.
1918 A. Quiller-Couch Foe-Farrell iii. 54 The car purred and glided away... We watched the rearlight turn the corner.
2001 B. R. Rogers & S. Rogers Adventure Guide Chesapeake Bay 464 Bikes must have a white light on the front... A rear light, while not required, must be visible for 500 feet if used.
ΚΠ
1846 E. Plunkett Past & Future Brit. Navy ix. 143 No. 1., who has been warned to ‘spring up to the safety position on the left’, does it so effectually, as to make ‘a cannon’ off the left rear-man, and pocket himself down the hatchway.
1859 F. A. Griffiths Artillerist's Man. (1862) 227 The two men whose numbers place them farthest from the ship's side [in working a gun] are to be termed right, and left rear-men.
c1860 H. Stuart Novices or Young Seaman's Catech. (rev. ed.) 12 Who places the inclined planes? The rear-man.
rear pillar n. (in a vehicle) the hindmost pillar (see pillar n. 5c).
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society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > parts and equipment of motor vehicles > [noun] > frame or chassis > vertical frame members
pillar1907
rear pillar1922
1922 Lincoln (Nebraska) State Jrnl. 27 Aug. 2 d/1 There is a dome light that operates from a switch control on the rear pillar.
1995 M. Lawrence et al. Which? Guide Home Safety & Security iii. 158 Even if a car does not have a full set of seat-belts, they are easy enough to install... Most have the mounting points already built in under the seat cushion and in the rear pillar.
2005 R. Ackerson Ford F-150 Pickup i. 9 The F-150 design team opted for a hinge hidden in the cab's rear pillar.
rear projection n. = back projection n. at back- comb. form 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > cinematography > projection > [noun]
projection1687
screen image1876
show1897
front projection1910
rear projection1913
back projection1933
projecting1959
1913 Frederick (Maryland) Post 6 Nov. 3/4 Investigators in the motion picture world are interested highly in..the application for a patent on a device designed to show motion pictures on show windows by means of rear projection, in darkness or daylight.
1960 Pract. Wireless 36 316/2 A team of demonstrators who operated the sequence of exhibit animations, rear projection films and synchronised sound and provided a live commentary.
1993 Electronic House Dec. 2/1 This home theater with a 52-inch rear projection TV from RCA, Dolby ProLogic audio/video receiver, laser disc player, VCR, and speakers costs just $5,596.
rearsight n. (a) the rearmost of the two sights on a gun; = backsight n. 2 (cf. foresight n. 5); (b) the back part of a camera viewfinder.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > camera > parts and accessories of camera > [noun] > view-finder
rearsight1831
finder1862
viewfinder1883
sports finder1938
1831 T. P. Thompson in Westm. Rev. Jan. 13 To aim at an object close at hand, the top of the front sight has only to be brought into one with the bottom of the rear sight.
1941 J. W. Bagley Aerophotogr. & Aerosurv. ii. 19 To equip the camera for oblique photography a rear sight consisting of a bead is mounted on a face of the magazine, and a front sight consisting of a negative lens is attached to the cone.
1971 Amateur Photogr. 13 Jan. 50/3 The rearsight is quite large, has a permanently attached rubber eye-cup and is adjustable between +1 to −4 dioptres to suit individual eyesight.
2005 Halifax (Nova Scotia) Daily News (Nexis) 13 Feb. (You section) 4 When the .22 Smith & Wesson is ready to fire, I try to look through the foresight and rearsight and take aim.
rear-steerer n. now rare a bicycle or tricycle steered from the back.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicle propelled by feet > [noun] > cycle > bicycle > other types of bicycle
forty-four1821
roadster1875
rear-steerer1882
pneumatic1890
path-racer1896
featherweight1901
free-wheeler1908
fairy cycle1920
superbike1935
sit-up-and-beg1939
bakfiets1956
high-riser1965
all-terrain cycle1970
chopper1971
mountain bike1972
shopper1973
mixte1975
BMX1978
cruiser1978
ojek1983
boda boda1995
e-bike1998
fixie2001
ghost bike2004
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicle propelled by feet > [noun] > cycle > tricycle > types of
rantoone1864
rear-steerer1882
sociable1882
box-tricycle1894
bakfiets1956
social cycle1961
1882 Wheel World Mar. 185 [Tricycles.] Two rear-steerers... A front-steerer.
1888 Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 559 Single-driving rear-steerers were at this time [sc. 1877] very common.
1899 Daily Iowa State Press 17 Nov. 7/4 The rifle is carried on this rear-steerer in a horizontal position in front of the rider.
rear-wheel drive n. and adj. (a) n. a transmission system that provides power to the rear wheels of a motor vehicle; cf. front-wheel drive at front n. Compounds 2; (b) adj. designating a car possessing this.
ΚΠ
1903 Horseless Age 28 Jan. 160/1 The rear wheel drive is by universal joint and gears to a live axle.
1959 Times 26 Aug. 10/4 The cars are indistinguishable from a rear-wheel drive car in the way they handle.
1989 Farm Jrnl. Oct. b30/3 Is rear-wheel drive necessary? ‘No, but it helps on turns and in wet conditions’, says Stroman.
2003 Backwoods Home Mag. Jan.–Feb. 75/1 How you get out of a skid depends on..whether your car is front-wheel drive or rear-wheel drive.
rear yard n. = backyard n.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > courtyard > [noun] > (back or front) yard
yardOE
backside1450
stead1546
outyard1600
lot1657
backyard1659
outlet1667
area1712
back lot1714
backlet1724
door-yardc1764
front yard1767
rear yard1800
tenement yard1874
sitooterie1994
1800 Massachusetts Spy 17 Dec. 3/1 The front and rear yards are 80 feet by 280 feet.
1937 Amer. Home Apr. 39/1 To create such a spot was our desire when we moved into our little home and began the landscaping of the rear yard.
2007 Irish Examiner (Nexis) 13 Oct. There's a communal and neighbourly open area to the front of the south-facing cottages..and individual rear yards.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2009; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
rearv.1
/rɪə/, U.S. /rɪ(ə)r/ I. To set up on end; to cause to stand up.† 3.
1.
a. transitive. To bring (a thing) to or towards a vertical position; to set up or upright; = raise v.1 5. Also reflexive.Frequently with suggestion of senses 10 or 14, and now usually implying a considerable height in the thing when raised.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > vertical position > make vertical [verb (transitive)] > make upright or erect
rearOE
rightOE
to set upa1225
raisea1250
upreara1300
risea1400
to dress upc1400
stand?a1425
upsetc1440
dress1490
to stick up1528
arrect1530
erect1557
prick1566
upright1590
mounta1616
OE Genesis A (1931) 1675 Ceastre worhton and to heofnum up hlædræ rærdon.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) 8714 Þeos stanes heo..ladden..in ann velde..on-uæst Ambres-burie..Mærlin heom gon ræren [c1300 reare] alse heo stoden ærer.
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 466 (MED) Brut..let vair tabernacle in honur of him rere.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1874) V. 455 Þe place þere Oswaldus knelede and rerede [?a1475 anon. tr. made; L. erexerat] a crosse..hatte Hevenfild.
c1450 (c1400) Sowdon of Babylon (1881) 2658 (MED) Thai rered the Galowes in haste.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 687/2 It is a great deale longer than one wolde have thought it afore it was reared up.
?a1560 L. Digges Geom. Pract.: Pantometria (1571) i. xxix. sig. I j v Fixing on the dimetient thereof two sightes perpendicularly reared.
1607 M. Drayton Legend Cromwel 40 The corne..being once downe it selfe can neuer reare.
1688 M. Prior Ode Exod. iii. 14 108 That Ladder which old Jacob rear'd.
1725 W. Broome in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey III. xi. 3 At once the mast we rear, at once unbind The spacious sheet.
1822 W. Irving Bracebridge Hall xxvi. 225 The May-pole was reared on the green.
1885 R. L. Stevenson & F. Stevenson Squire of Dames in More New Arabian Nights 61 Scarce was the ladder reared to its full length than he had sprung already on the rounds.
1931 A. Uttley Country Child vi. 74 Any day now she would find long ladders reared against the trees.
1966 Jrnl. Soc. Archit. Historians 25 223/2 The component members of each transverse frame are laid out.., and finally each complete frame is reared up, rotating on the cruck feet, into its vertical position.
2006 Lincolnshire Echo (Nexis) 18 July 34 First officer Gosling had a narrow escape from injury when climbing a ladder reared against the blazing building.
b. intransitive. To rise up towards a vertical position or into the air; to rise high, to tower.(Agriculture) of the slice of earth turned up by the mouldboard of the plough.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > upward movement > rise or go up [verb (intransitive)]
styc825
astyc950
ariseOE
upstyOE
to step upOE
upcomec1000
to come upOE
to go upOE
upwendc1200
runge?c1225
amountc1275
upgoa1325
heavec1325
uparise1340
ascend1382
higha1393
lifta1400
risea1400
skilla1400
uprisea1400
raisec1400
rearc1400
surmount1430
to get upc1450
transcenda1513
springa1525
upmounta1560
assurge?1567
hove1590
surgea1591
tower1618
hoist1647
upheave1649
to draw up1672
spire1680
insurrect1694
soar1697
upsoar1726
uprear1828
higher1889
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > vertical extent > become high(er) [verb (intransitive)]
astyc950
arisec1225
rise?a1400
rearc1400
heighten1567
stem1577
upclimb1582
taper1589
clamber?1611
shoot1648
relevate1661
ascend1667
spring1673
spear1822
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) l. 366 (MED) Þe mukel lavande loghe to þe lyfte rered.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) 423 (MED) Ofte hit [sc. the ark] roled on rounde and rered on ende.
?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xv Let the husbande..plowe a brode forowe and a depe..and ley it flat that it rere nat on the edge.
1790 W. Marshall Agric. Provincialisms in Rural Econ. Midland Counties II. 441 Rear, to rise up before the plow, as the furrows sometimes do in plowing.
1841 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop ii. xxxviii. 2 The loftiest steeple that now rears proudly up from the midst of guilt.
1881 Scribner's Mag. Aug. 532/2 If a wind on the beam is so strong as to make her either slide or ‘rear up’ too much.
1926 Travel Nov. 30/2 The mountains are clothed smokily with pine, ocote, and, like a woman in a gauze rebozo, they rear in a rich blue fume that is almost cornflower blue in the clefts.
1948 A. Paton Cry, Beloved Country i. iv. 24 A great iron structure rearing into the air, and a great wheel above it.
1993 D. Coyle Hardball iii. v. 147 Maurice reared and threw, and the batter..lofted a pop-up toward second base.
2. To cause to rise.
a. transitive. To rouse from bed or sleep; = raise v.1 1a. Now English regional.In quot. OE in figurative context.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > state of being awake > wake or rouse [verb (transitive)] > summon or force to get out of bed
rearOE
raisec1175
call1570
to rouse out1825
to shout (a person) up, out of bed-
OE Riddle 3 73 Saga hwæt ic [i.e. the wind] hatte, oþþe hwa mec rære, þonne ic restan ne mot.
a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 77 We..bidden þat he..weche us of ure heuie slape and rere us of ure fule lust bedde.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Jer. xxxi. 26 Therfore as fro slep I am rered.
c1400 (?c1380) Patience l. 188 (MED) Þe freke..bede hym ferk vp, Þer Ragnel in his rakentes hym rere of his dremes.
c1450 J. Capgrave Life St. Katherine (Arun. 396) (1893) iii. 1364 (MED) Alle-maner comforte here doo we lak That shuld ȝow rere; therfore I charge yow, ffal no more in swiche-maner swow.
1566 T. Drant tr. Horace Medicinable Morall iii. sig. O.ii He rearde the sickman from his bed, Syr (quod he) houlde it fast Or els no doubte, those will haue all.
1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. Rear, to rouse; to disturb.
b. transitive. To rouse or dislodge (a hunted animal, spec. a boar) from a lair, covert, etc.; = raise v.1 1b. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunt [verb (transitive)] > drive from lair or cover
starta1393
raisec1425
to put upa1475
rear1486
uprear1486
to start out1519
rouse1531
uncouch?a1562
to den outa1604
dislodge1632
tufta1640
draw1781
jump1836
1486 Bk. St. Albans sig. eiiii (MED) Whiche beestis shall be reride with the lymer.
1575 G. Gascoigne Noble Arte Venerie xl. 115 Beating and following vntill they haue reared and found the Harte againe.
1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis i. 10 Rearing with shoutcry soom boare.
1674 N. Cox Gentleman's Recreation i. 5 To couch and rear a Boar.
1685 J. Dryden tr. Horace Epode ii, in Sylvæ sig. K7 Into the naked Woods he goes And seeks the tusky Boar to rear.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth III. 174 When the boar is rear'd, as is the expression for driving him from his covert.
1846 W. Youatt Pig (1847) iv. 37 When first the animal was ‘reared’, he contented himself with slowly going away.
1938 T. H. White Sword in Stone xvi. 237 The lymers which had reared the boar—the proper word for dislodging—were allowed to pursue him to make them keen on their work.
a. transitive. To raise from the dead; = raise v.1 2. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > source or principle of life > resurrection or revival > [verb (transitive)]
quickOE
arearc1000
raisec1175
reara1325
upraisec1340
quickena1382
again-raisec1384
araisea1400
resuscea1400
revokea1413
recovera1425
revivec1425
suscitec1430
resuscite?c1450
risea1500
relive?1526
to call againa1529
resuscitate1532
requicken1576
refetch1599
reanimate1611
reinspire1611
reinanimatea1631
recreate1631
revivify1631
redivive1634
revivificate1660
resurrection1661
resurrect1773
re-embody1791
revivicate1798
re-energize1803
resurrectionize1804
revitalize1869
reimpress1883
a1325 (?c1300) Northern Passion (Cambr. Gg.1.1) 93 (MED) Wan he had þat lazre rerid, Þar for was he muchil ipreisid.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1872) IV. 461 Iulianus..rered þre men fro deth to lyve.
a1450 Lessons of Dirige (Digby) 311 in J. Kail 26 Polit. Poems (1904) 117 (MED) Þou þat rered Lazar on hyȝt Out of þe graue..Þy pauylon of mercy be on hem pyȝt.
a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich Hist. Holy Grail xlix. 201 (MED) Take ȝe that dede body..ȝif that to lyve he rere him Ageyn, thanne ben they [sc. the gods] myhty In Certein.
a1500 (?c1425) Speculum Sacerdotale (1936) 31 (MED) He heleth the blynde and he reryþ to lyve the dede.
1572 R. Harrison tr. L. Lavater Of Ghostes iii. i. 179 [Saule] sought help of a witch to reare Samuel from the dead.
1676 tr. H. C. Agrippa Vanity Arts & Sci. xliv. 113 By their powerful Charms dead bodies rear'd From out their Graves in open Air appear'd.
b. transitive. To raise (a person) to (also out of, or from) a certain condition. Cf. raise v.1 19, 18. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > virtue > righteousness or rectitude > reform, amendment, or correction > reform, amend, or correct [verb (transitive)] > specifically a person
raisec1175
chastya1240
amenda1275
chastisec1330
reara1382
revokec1384
redressc1390
reclaima1393
reducec1425
reform1477
reclaim?a1505
emendc1542
claim1546
reduct1548
save1857
decriminalize1963
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1961) Deut. xxxii. 19 Þe lord sawȝ & to wraþþe was rered [a1425 L.V. stirid; L. concitatus].
c1450 J. Capgrave Life St. Augustine (1910) 14 (MED) Be hir prayeres Austyn is now rered fro his seknesse.
a1500 tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi (Trin. Dublin) (1893) 145 (MED) I am it þat rere to helth hem þat morneþ.
c1580 Sir P. Sidney tr. Psalmes David xxxiv. ix God shall him to safety reare, When most he seemes opprest.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. i. sig. Cc6 Their Ladye..They reard out of her frosen swownd.
1624 F. Quarles Iob Militant sig. H2v Then doubt not, but he'l reare thee from thy sorrow.
4. † a. transitive. To arouse, animate, stimulate; = raise v.1 7. Also with up. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > excitement > exciting > excite [verb (transitive)]
astirc1000
stir?c1225
araisec1374
entalentc1374
flamec1380
reara1382
raisec1384
commove1393
kindlea1400
fluster1422
esmove1474
talent1486
heavec1540
erect?1555
inflame1560
to set on gog1560
yark1565
tickle1567
flesh1573
concitate1574
rouse1574
warmc1580
agitate1587
spirit1598
suscitate1598
fermentate1599
nettle1599
startle1602
worka1616
exagitate1621
foment1621
flush1633
exacuatea1637
ferment1667
to work up1681
pique1697
electrify1748
rattle1781
pump1791
to touch up1796
excite1821
to key up1835
to steam up1909
jazz1916
steam1922
volt1930
whee1949
to fire up1976
geek1984
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) 1 Esdras i. 1 The lord rerede the spirit of Ciri, king of Persis.
a1425 (?a1400) Benjamin Minor (Harl. 674) in P. Hodgson Deonise hid Diuinite (1955) 24 (MED) Þees..ben ful needful..to rere up oure wille in worching of good.
c1475 ( Surg. Treat. in MS Wellcome 564 f. 40v (MED) Þe malancolie..schulde rere vp þe stomakis appetit, as doiþ stiptik and acetous þingis.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. FFviiv Therfore reare vp thy corage & shewe thy manhode.
1632 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy (ed. 4) ii. ii. iv. iii. 294 A roaring-meg against Melancholy, to reare and reuiue the languishing Soule.
1647 H. More Philos. Poems ii. i. ii. ii New strength my vitals doth invade And rear again, that earst began to fade.
a1677 I. Barrow Pract. Disc. (1712) iii. 127 To retrieve a defloured Modesty,..to supple a callous Heart, to settle a baffled Reason, to rear a dejected Courage.
b. transitive. To rouse up for common action; = raise v.1 4. Also with up. Now English regional.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > undertaking > beginning action or activity > begin or enter upon (an action) [verb (transitive)] > stir up or rouse up > for the purpose of a common action
raisec1384
rear1460
1460 W. Paston & T. Playter in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 162 The Kyng cometh to London ward, and..rereth the pepyll as he com.
c1460 (?c1400) Tale of Beryn 2905 (MED) Hanybald..made a hidouse cry..& rerid vp al þe town.
c1470 tr. R. D'Argenteuil's French Bible (Cleveland) (1977) 49 (MED) One of hem rerid the peple ayens þat oþir.
1864 W. Barnes Gloss. Dorset Dial. Rear,..to rouse; to excite.
1878 W. Dickinson Gloss. Words & Phrases Cumberland (ed. 2) Rear,..rally, bring up.
1891 T. Hardy Tess of the D'Urbervilles III. lviii. 272 There are sixteen of us on the Plain, and the whole county is reared.
5. transitive. To mould (pastry) into a piecrust with raised edges; to form (a piecrust) from pastry; = raise v.1 5b. Now English regional.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation for table or cooking > preparing pastry, biscuits, or cake > prepare pastry, biscuits, or cake [verb (transitive)] > set up without dish
reara1475
raise1594
a1475 Liber Cocorum (Sloane) (1862) 34 (MED) Take floure and rere þo cofyns fyne, Wele stondande withouten stine.
1594 W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus v. ii. 187 Of the paste a coffen I will reare . View more context for this quotation
1631 B. Jonson Staple of Newes (1640) iv. ii. 52 [The Master-Cooke] Rears bulwark pies, and for his outerworkes He raiseth Ramparts of immortall crust.]
1882 G. F. Jackson Shropshire Word-bk. (at cited word) I've rendered the best lard an' the midgen-lard, an' reared four an' twenty pies, beside a batch of apple-fit—an' got i' the oven.
1896 G. F. Northall Warwickshire Word-bk. 189 Rear, to raise, on moulds, the paste for meat pies. If the paste be badly made, it gives way and loses its shape.
6. † c. transitive. To throw off by rearing. Obsolete.Apparently an isolated use.
a. intransitive. Of an animal, esp. a horse: to rise up, usually on the hind legs. Also with up, and transitive (reflexive or with it).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > by habits or actions > habits and actions > [verb (intransitive)] > rise up on the hind legs
rampc1390
rear1487
risea1500
rare1833
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > habits and actions of horse > [verb (intransitive)] > rear
mounta1425
arearc1430
rear1487
risea1500
to stand upon no ground1580
volt1688
stend1786
the world > animals > by habits or actions > habits and actions > [verb (transitive)] > rear up
stend1567
rear1591
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > habits and actions of horse > [verb (reflexive)] > rear
rear1761
1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) xiv. 69 Hobynis, that war stekit thar, Rerit [1489 Adv. Relyt] and flang.
1566 T. Blundeville Arte of Rydynge (rev. ed.) Table sig. B.iii, in Fower Offices Horsemanshippe How to correct that horse that will reare right vp when he is corrected for anye fault wyth a sticke vppon the head.
1591 E. Spenser Prosopopoia in Complaints 237 Eftsoones the Ape himselfe gan up to reare.
1593 W. Shakespeare Venus & Adonis sig. Cv Sometime he trots,..Anon he reres vpright, curuets, and leaps. View more context for this quotation
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Cabrer, to reare, or stand vpright on the hinder feet;..as a Goat, or Kid that brouses on a tree.
1629 J. Gaule Distractions 92 How he reares in the Necke.
1761 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy III. xxxvi. 167 Let me beg of you, like an unback'd filly,..to jump it, to rear it, to bound it.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth VII. 211 A rattle-snake..reared up, bit his hand, and shook his rattles.
1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. II. xv. 164 He [sc. a bear] will rear himself upon his hind-legs.
1870 R. W. Emerson Society & Solitude 231 When he began to rear, they were so frightened that they could not see the horse.
1938 Life 4 Apr. 26 (caption) Ringmaster of the circus is Fred Bradna, here shown training a horse to rear properly.
1992 A. McConnell Quantum Leap iv. 66 The pony gave a screech of its own, reared, and crashed into the fence, breaking three boards and sending a post into a crazy lean.
b. transitive. To cause (a horse) to rear. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > riding on horse (or other animal) > ride (a horse or other animal) [verb (transitive)] > cause to rear
rear1685
1685 C. Cotton tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. I. xlviii. 560 Cleaving him down with a Scyth betwixt the Shoulders, as the Horse was rear'd up upon his Master.
1814 R. Southey Roderick xxv. 318 He raised his hand, and rear'd, and back'd the steed.
1818 H. H. Milman Samor in Poet. Wks. (1840) II. xi. 260 Emrys struck His courser's reeking flanks, his weapon huge Rear'd Vortimer, and Malwyn's wheels 'gan whirl.
1995 New Yorker 5 June 95/2 At one point, he even has to rear his horse and wave, like the Lone Ranger: it's the medieval equivalent of doing a wheelie on your first motorbike.
ΚΠ
1839 P. J. Bailey Festus 269 Earth rear off her cities As a horse his rider.
7.
a. transitive. To raise or lift (the body, limbs, etc.). Also with up.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > posture > action of standing up or rising > rise [verb (transitive)]
rear?1567
?1567 M. Parker Whole Psalter lv. 158 He rearde hys handes: agaynst hys frendes.
1594 T. Lodge & R. Greene Looking Glasse sig. H4 He sits him downe in sack-cloathes, his hands..reared to heauen.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 (1623) iii. ii. 34 Helpe Lords, the King is dead. Som. Rere vp his Body, wring him by the Nose. View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost i. 221 Forthwith upright he rears from off the Pool His mighty Stature. View more context for this quotation
1705 R. Blackmore Eliza x. 296 He did his vast Gigantick Shoulders reer Above the Host, and tow'ring in the Air, Did a tall, walking Obelisk appear.
1757 W. Wilkie Epigoniad v. 142 His crooked form he rear'd, With horror pale, with blotting clay besmear'd.
1811 P. B. Shelley St. Irvyne ii. 50 Her skeleton form the dead Nun rear'd.
1864 Ld. Tennyson Enoch Arden in Enoch Arden, etc. 41 The babe, who rear'd his creasy arms.
1992 St. Louis (Missouri) Post-Dispatch (Nexis) 30 Apr. (Zone North section) 8 The worms..have the curious habit of rearing their bodies when disturbed to appear menacing to predators.
2006 G. Tucker in L. Standiford Miami Noir i. 65 He reared his arm straight back and brought it down hard as he could, and the dart snapped forward.
b. transitive. To lift (a person) to or towards an erect or standing posture; to set on one's feet, assist to rise. Also reflexive: to get up on one's feet, to rise up.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > posture > action of standing up or rising > rise [verb (reflexive)]
risec1175
arearc1220
right?c1225
to do up?c1335
dressa1400
raisec1450
to stand up1533
rearc1580
upend1900
the world > space > relative position > posture > action of standing up or rising > rise [verb (transitive)] > set upright
raisea1300
rearc1580
c1580 Sir P. Sidney tr. Psalmes David iii. iii I laid me downe and slept,..And safe from sleepe I rear'd me.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. viii. sig. H3v He found the meanes that Prisoner vp to reare, Whose feeble thighes..Him scarse to light could beare.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost xi. 758 Till gently reard By th' Angel, on thy feet thou stoodst at last. View more context for this quotation
1772 W. Jones Poems 37 The matron with surprize her daughter rears.
1849 ‘T. Treddlehoyle’ Bairnsla Foaks' Ann. (E.D.D.) 50 Nelly wor rear'd wi hur back ageean t'cellar door.
1859 B. Brierley in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1904) V. 62/1 Wi reart th' owd lad in a corner.
1900 L. B. Walford One of Ourselves xiv A tall figure reared itself upright at her approach.
a1978 M. Bell Compl. Poems (1988) 55 Each November, Ferdy the Headmaster Reared himself squat and rolled his eyeballs upward, Rolled the whole roll-call off an oily tongue, Remorselessly from A to Z.
1999 D. Morrissey Kit's Law (2001) xxii. 248 The sound of my voice..would startle her, and she'd rear out of the chair and wallop me across the face.
2007 Independent (Nexis) 19 Jan. (Extra section) 14 She throws her stick away, fury straightening the witch's lame leg, and rears herself up.
8.
a. intransitive. Originally and chiefly U.S. Of a person: to stand up suddenly, esp. in anger (cf. sense 6a). Also in extended use: to rouse oneself to action, esp. to oppose or object to something; to take a stand. Chiefly with up.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > posture > action of standing up or rising > rise or be standing [verb (intransitive)] > rise > quickly or suddenly
to start upc1275
upstart1303
leapc1330
upspringc1374
uprapea1400
boltc1425
starta1470
spring1474
rear1835
rare1886
1835 Amer. Monthly Mag. July 343 Pardon, pardon, boys, for rearing up, and caracoling, in this irregular fashion.
1851 Sheboygan (Wisconsin) Mercury 3 May 1/2 I reared up at this like thunder. I had an everlasting mind to knock the fellow over the head with the breech of my rifle.
1899 Scribner's Mag. Jan. 98/1 [He] is a brave man and has been known to rear on occasions.
1927 Iowa City Press–Citizen 24 Jan. He reared, he threw his bat, he tore around in circles, he shook his fist under the ump's nose.
1977 Washington Post (Nexis) 10 Apr. g1 The House reared up and killed the bill by 217 to 205 on March 25.
1985 J. N. Isbister Freud iv. 179 Unlike his compliant father he had longed to rear up and fight that anti-semitism.
1999 J. Lloyd & E. Rees Come Together v. 120 On 1 December 1997, I reared up from my work station in the art department of ProPixel Ltd, Wembley.
b. intransitive. Irish English. With up. To become angry or verbally abusive. Frequently with on.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > anger > [verb (intransitive)] > become angry
wrethec900
wrothc975
abelghec1300
to move one's blood (also mood)c1330
to peck moodc1330
gremec1460
to take firea1513
fumec1522
sourdc1540
spitec1560
to set up the heckle1601
fire1604
exasperate1659
to fire up1779
to flash up1822
to get one's dander up1831
to fly (occasionally jump, etc.) off (at) the handle1832
to have (also get) one's monkey up1833
to cut up rough, rusty, savage1837
rile1837
to go off the handle1839
to flare up1840
to set one's back up1845
to run hot1855
to wax up1859
to get one's rag out1862
blow1871
to get (also have) the pricker1871
to turn up rough1872
to get the needle1874
to blaze up1878
to get wet1898
spunk1898
to see red1901
to go crook1911
to get ignorant1913
to hit the ceiling1914
to hit the roof1921
to blow one's top1928
to lose one's rag1928
to lose one's haira1930
to go up in smoke1933
hackle1935
to have, get a cob on1937
to pop (also blow) one's cork1938
to go hostile1941
to go sparec1942
to do one's bun1944
to lose one's wool1944
to blow one's stack1947
to go (also do) one's (also a) dingerc1950
rear1953
to get on ignorant1956
to go through the roof1958
to keep (also blow, lose) one's cool1964
to lose ita1969
to blow a gasket1975
to throw a wobbler1985
1953 M. Traynor Eng. Dial. Donegal 228/2 He reared up on his father.
1999 J. Cassidy Street Life 72 Before, if anyone said the wrong thing, I used to rear up. I couldn't seem to control my temper and I kept getting into fights.
2005 Irish News (Nexis) 21 June 22 It wouldn't look good for Frank McBrearty if he was to rear up on a woman.
II. To construct, bring into existence, breed, bring up.† 10. transitive. To establish, originate, bring about, or set going (a state or condition of things, esp. one which causes trouble or annoyance); to commence and carry on (some action, esp. war). Cf. raise v.1 15, 10. Obsolete.
9. † b. transitive. To bring into existence; to cause to arise or appear. Cf. raise v.1 9, 12. Obsolete.In the Wycliffite Bible (up to the end of Jeremiah) rere is regularly used to translate Latin suscitāre in this sense: it is not quite clear whether the underlying idea belongs here or at branch I.
a. transitive. To construct, esp. by building up; = raise v.1 8. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > build or construct [verb (transitive)] > build or construct by fitting parts together
reareOE
raisec1175
build1884
eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) iii. ii. 158 He Cristes cirican in his rice geornlice timbrede & rærde.
OE Genesis A (1931) 1880 Ongunnon him þa bytlian and heora burh ræran.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) 11034 Þa hæhte hine Arður..þat he rærde churechen.
c1300 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Otho) 7707 Vppe þan munte of Kaier ich þe wolle reade þat þou reare [c1275 wurche] castel.
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 5408 Abbeys he rerde monion In mony studes.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Gen. xxxiii. 20 Þer, an auter rerid [L. erecto ibi altari], he inwardly clepide vpon þat þe most strong god of yrael.
c1440 (?a1400) Morte Arthure 562 (MED) There sall appon Godarde a garette be rerede.
a1500 ( in J. S. Brewer Monumenta Franciscana (1858) 521 (MED) The sayd Mayer..shall make a wall of Stone..toward the West rayryng the sayd wall from the grownd in hyeght couenable for to bere the gystes of the Solers.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. lxxiij A tower..rered by great crafte.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. x. sig. Mm8 Amongst the hiues to reare An hony combe.
1637 J. Milton Comus 27 Till all thy magick structures rear'd so high Were shatter'd into heaps.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Pastorals ii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 7 When summon'd Stones the Theban Turrets rear'd.
1746 J. Warton Ode to Fancy 30 Where never human art appear'd, Nor ev'n one straw-rooft cott was rear'd.
1772 H. Mackenzie Man of World (1803) i. ii. 421 The fall of those hopes we had been vainly diligent to rear.
1779 J. Moore View Society & Manners France (1789) I. xlviii. 408 He had reared a building greatly larger.
1812 M. R. Mitford in A. G. L'Estrange Life M. R. Mitford (1870) I. vi. 193 How weak the fame the lowly songstress rears.
1874 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People iii. §4. 129 The canons..reared the church which still exists as the diocesan cathedral.
1909 A. Bierce Coll. Wks. IV. 19 I viewed A city where the restless multitude Between the eastern and the western deep Had reared gigantic fabrics, strong and rude.
1986 New Yorker 2 June 52/3 ‘I now rear about three of the skin ones [sc. coracles] every year.’..(‘Rears’ is a verb also used in the coopering trade, a barrel being reared rather than simply made.)
2001 RIA Novosti (Nexis) 25 Sept. The sculpture ensemble in Tiergarten is the first Soviet monument reared in postwar Berlin.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > source or principle of life > birth > confinement > confine or deliver [verb (transitive)] > give birth
forthbring971
akenOE
haveOE
bearOE
to bring into the worldOE
teemOE
i-bereOE
to bring forthc1175
childc1175
reara1275
ofkenc1275
hatcha1350
makea1382
yielda1400
cleck1401
issue1447
engenderc1450
infant1483
deliver?a1518
whelp1581
world1596
yean1598
fall1600
to give (a person or thing) birth1615
to give birth to1633
drop1662
pup1699
born1703
to throw off1742
beteem1855
birth1855
parturiate1866
shell1890
to put to bed1973
bring-
a1275 (?c1200) Prov. Alfred (Trin. Cambr.) (1955) 112 (MED) Wose lat is wif his maister wurþen..he sal him rere dreiȝe.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Gen. xxxviii. 8 Go inne to þe wyf of þi broþer..þat þou rere [a1425 L.V. reise; L. suscites] seed to þi broþer.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1963) 1 Kings ii. 35 I schal reryn [L. suscitabo] to me a trewe preest.
a1425 (a1382) Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Corpus Oxf.) (1850) Exod. x. 13 A brennynge wynd reride [L. levavit] vp locustes.
c1450 (a1400) Chevalere Assigne 211 in W. H. French & C. B. Hale Middle Eng. Metrical Romances (1930) 867 He asskede hymm þanne what was a moder—‘A womman þat bare þe to man sonne and of her reredde.’
1579 G. Whetstone Remembraunce Bacon B4v Yet as her duste, a Phenix newe doeth reare,So (well he wist) whiche ioy doeth worldlyngs griue,By Death, his soule, and bodie bothe should liue.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) iv. vii. 92 From their ashes shal be reard A Phœnix. View more context for this quotation
1687 E. Settle in H. Higden Mod. Ess. 10th Satyr Juvenal Ded. sig. Aa3 His distant Heat does by thy Labour burn, And Rear thy Phenix from his Spicey Vrne.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > causation > [verb (transitive)]
wieldeOE
timberc897
letc900
rearOE
doOE
i-wendeOE
workOE
makeOE
bringc1175
raisec1175
shapec1315
to owe (also have) a wold (also on wield)a1325
procurec1330
purchasec1330
causec1340
conform1377
performa1382
excite1398
induce1413
occasionate?c1450
occasionc1454
to bring about1480
gara1500
to bring to passc1513
encause1527
to work out1534
inferc1540
excitate?1549
import1550
ycause1563
frame1576
effect1581
to bring in1584
effectuatea1586
apport?1591
introduce1605
create1607
generate1607
cast1633
efficiate1639
conciliate1646
impetrate1647
state1654
accompass1668
to bring to bear1668
to bring on1671
effectivate1717
makee1719
superinduce1837
birth1913
the world > existence and causation > creation > [verb (transitive)] > of God
workOE
rearOE
shapeOE
makeOE
raisec1384
to set (something) on (also upon) sevenc1390
spire1435
the mind > emotion > aspects of emotion > quality of affecting the emotions > affect with emotion [verb (transitive)] > cause or give rise to an emotion
rearOE
arear?c1225
annoyc1300
movea1325
excite1393
raisea1400
lighta1413
stirc1430
provokec1450
provocate?a1475
rendera1522
to stir upc1530
excitate?1549
inspire1576
yield1576
to turn up1579
rouse1589
urge1594
incense1598
upraisea1600
upreara1600
irritate1612
awakena1616
recreate1643
pique1697
arouse1730
unlull1743
energize1753
evocate1827
evoke1856
vibe1977
the mind > will > motivation > motivate [verb (transitive)] > incite or instigate > bring about by incitement
stirc897
forthclepe?c1000
raisec1175
entice1297
rearc1325
excitea1340
arta1450
provocate?a1475
suscitate1528
to stir upc1530
provoke1535
store1552
concitea1555
upsteer1558
spirit1598
solicit1602
foment1606
fana1616
proritate1620
incite1627
ferment1660
spirita1680
brush1755
whip1805
to put (also set) (the) spurs to1819
fillipa1822
instigate1852
spark-plug1945
whomp1961
the world > existence and causation > causation > [verb (transitive)] > give rise to
makeOE
breedc1200
wakea1325
wakenc1330
engendera1393
gendera1398
raisea1400
begetc1443
reara1513
ingener1513
ingenerate1528
to stir upc1530
yield1576
to pull ona1586
to brood up1586
to set afloat (on float)1586
spawn1594
innate1602
initiate1604
inbreed1605
irritate1612
to give rise to1630
to let in1655
to gig (out)1659
to set up1851
gin1887
society > society and the community > dissent > become at variance with [verb (transitive)] > cause (dissension)
raisea1400
rear1548
society > communication > information > publishing or spreading abroad > publish or spread abroad [verb (transitive)]
sowc888
blowc1275
dispeple1297
to do abroadc1300
fame1303
publyc1350
defamea1382
publisha1382
open?1387
proclaima1393
slandera1400
spreada1400
abroachc1400
throwc1400
to give outa1425
promote?a1425
noisec1425
publicc1430
noisec1440
divulgea1464
to put outc1475
skail1487
to come out witha1500
bruit1525
bruita1529
to bear out1530
divulgate1530
promulgate1530
propale?1530
ventilate1530
provulgate1535
sparple1536
sparse1536
promulge1539
disperse1548
publicate1548
forthtell1549
hurly-burly?1550
propagate1554
to set abroada1555
utter1561
to set forth1567
blaze1570
evulgate1570
scatter1576
rear?1577
to carry about1585
pervulgate1586
celebrate?1596
propalate1598
vent1602
evulge1611
to give forth1611
impublic1628
ventilate1637
disseminate1643
expose1644
emit1650
to put about1664
to send abroad1681
to get abroad1688
to take out1697
advertise1710
forward1713
to set abouta1715
circulate1780
broadcast1829
vent1832
vulgate1851
debit1879
float1883
OE Cynewulf Crist II 689 God..sibbe ræreþ ece to ealdre engla ond monna.
OE Wulfstan Sermo ad Anglos (Nero) (1957) 267 Dægliwamlice [read dæghwamlice] man ihte yfel æfter oðrum, and unriht rærde.
OE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Tiber. B.i) anno 1052 Ealle Frencisce men þe ær unlage rærdon & undom demdon.
?c1250 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Egerton) 172 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 293 Þo scullen habbe hardne dom..þa þe euele heolden wreche men and vuele laȝes rerde [a1200 Trin. Cambr. arerde, a1225 Lamb. redde].
c1300 St. Edmund Rich (Harl.) 493 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S. Eng. Legendary (1956) 508 (MED) Þe deuel of helle..bigan to rere contek bituene hem anon.
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 8987 (MED) Erl theband..bigan to rere worre vpe þe king of france.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1963) 2 Kings xii. 11 I schal reren vpon þee euyl of þi hous.
a1450 (?a1390) J. Mirk Instr. Parish Priests (Claud.) (1974) 1131 (MED) Hast þow reret any debate A-monge þy neȝborus?
a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) II. f. ciiiv Which tempest after ye oppynyon of some wryters was reryd by ye Negromauncers of ye frenshe Kynge.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry IV f. x If any persones would presume to rere warre or congregate a multitude.
?1577 J. Northbrooke Spiritus est Vicarius Christi: Treat. Dicing 7 Rearing vp slanders vpon the preachers of the word of God.
1613 Ioyfull Peace between Denmark & Sweden (single sheet) That Denmarks King without all let, foure golden Crownes may beare, Which was the great and greatest cause, he first these warres did reare.
1643 W. Prynne Soveraigne Power Parl. i. 95 If any persons should presume to reare warre or congregate a multitude to deliver him [sc. King Richard] out of prison, that then he should be the first that should die.
11. transitive. To utter (a cry, a prayer, etc.); to create (a noise) by shouting; to begin to sing; = raise v.1 14. Also intransitive. Also with out or up. Now rare.Also associated with (or originating in) branch III.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > loudness > make a loud sound or noise [verb (transitive)]
upheavea1300
rearc1400
raisea1425
foulder1559
trumpet1729
uplift1816
blast1932
blare1939
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > cry or shout (loudness) > cry or shout [verb (transitive)] > raise (a shout)
arearc1380
rearc1400
raisea1425
to put up1730
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > singing > sing [verb (transitive)] > begin to sing
to take upc1390
raise1595
mount1601
rear1785
OE Daniel 191 Þær þry wæron.., eorlas Israela, þæt hie a noldon hyra þeodnes dom þafigan onginnan, þæt hie to þam beacne gebedu rærde.
c1330 (?a1300) Arthour & Merlin (Auch.) (1973) 6417 Þe paiens..gun rere a wel foule crie.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1969) Isa. xv. 5 Þe cri of contricioun þei shul reren [L. levabunt].
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) 873 Þenne þe rebaudez so ronk rerd such a noyse.
c1503 R. Arnold Chron. f. xxxiij/2 Ye shall rere vp hue and crye and..folowe theym fro strete to strete.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. v. Argt. Belphebe finds him almost dead, and reareth out of sownd.
1618 G. Chapman tr. Hesiod Georgicks ii. 111 When thou the crane shalt hear Aloft out of the clouds her clanges rear.
1699 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 21 332 As it [sc. the pain] fell lower, it grew more violent, especially when in his big Toe it made him rear out.
1756 Let. 21 Sept. in E. Pyle Mem. Royal Chaplain (1905) 265 The Psalm is reared by a sergeant of grenadiers, a stately fellow, with a vast pair of whiskers.
1785 W. Cowper Task vi. 662 The simple clerk..did rear right merrily, two staves, Sung to the praise and glory of King George.
1930 R. Campbell Adamastor 51 Doomed vessels..Reared to the stars their tempest-throttled cry.
1966 in Dict. Newfoundland Eng. (1982) at Rear If I was to go up along and show you where [this woman] is and you walk in the house where she's to, she liable to rear out the biggest kind right down on top of you.
12. † d. transitive. To raise (livestock) so as to use the meat for food. Obsolete.† e. intransitive. To turn out (well or badly) in the course of, or after, breeding. Obsolete. rare.
a. transitive. To bring (an animal) to maturity or to a certain stage of growth by giving proper nourishment and attention; esp. to breed (cattle, etc.) as an occupation. Cf. raise v.1 9c, 11c.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > rear animals [verb (transitive)]
nourishc1300
to bring forthc1305
rear?1440
raise1743
educate1760
farm1793
mind1824
tr. Palladius De re Rustica (Duke Humfrey) (1896) i. 610 (MED) The pocok me may rere vp [L. nutrire] esely If bestes wilde or theuys hem ne greue.
?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xxix Yet is it better for the husbande to sell those calues than to reyre them, bycause of the cost.
1580 T. Tusser Fiue Hundred Pointes Good Husbandrie (new ed.) f. 24 To rere vp much pultrie, and want the barne doore, is naught for the pulter, and woorse for the poore.
a1650 W. Bradford Hist. Plymouth Plantation (1899) 363 Some spetiall lands were granted at..a plase very weell meadowed, and fitt to keep & rear catle, good store.
1759 R. Brown Compl. Farmer 49 It is a common saying, the worst housewife will rear the best pigs.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth II. 248 Those persons whose employment it is to rear up pigeons of different colours, can breed them..to a feather.
1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. II. 985 Calves reared in this manner are to be enticed to eat hay as early as possible.
1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm III. 845 No man rears a stallion for the use of his own mares only.
1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 469/1 Great numbers of cattle are reared; and cheese, butter and hides..are exported.
1954 R. Jarrell Pictures from Inst. i. 19 The baby gorilla which, reared with a psychologist's baby, had for many months outstripped the child.
1990 J. McGahern Amongst Women 64 One spring he reared a wild duck from the egg of an abandoned nest.
2004 G. J. Benson & B. E. Rollin Well-being of Farm Animals i. vii. 138 Beef bull calves are reared on the mother cow and most dairy bull calves are bucket-fed by people.
b. transitive. To bring up (a child) to maturity; to care for, nourish, educate; = raise v.1 11. Also intransitive and in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > upbringing > [verb (transitive)]
i-teon975
forthbringc1000
forthwiseOE
nourishc1300
nurshc1325
feedc1330
updraw1390
uprearc1400
educate1445
norrya1450
nurturea1450
to bring up1484
endue1526
nuzzle1558
rear1558
nurse1584
to breed up1611
cradle1613
breed1650
raise1744
rare1798
mud1814
to fetch up1841
rise1843
1558 T. Phaer tr. Virgil Seuen First Bks. Eneidos v. sig. O.iv Than one among them all, dame Pyrgo matrone most of age, King Priams nurse that was, and princely children up dyd reare.
1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream ii. i. 136 For her sake, doe I reare vp her boy. View more context for this quotation
1606 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. (new ed.) ii. iii. 61 She takes him vp and reares him royal-like.
1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 555 God with these forbid'n made choice to rear His mighty Champion. View more context for this quotation
1726 J. Swift Gulliver I. i. vi. 101 All Parents..are obliged to send their Infants of both Sexes to be reared and educated when they come to the Age of twenty Moons.
1785 W. Cowper Task vi. 38 We loved, but not enough, the gentle hand That reared us.
1803 J. Davis Trav. U.S.A. 215 This gentleman..is not only a Latin, but a Greek Scholar. He was reared at Cambridge.
1879 M. Pattison Milton 179 When Milton was being reared, Calvinism was not old and effete.
1949 N. Mitford Love in Cold Climate ii. i Making a perfection of their homes at the same time as rearing large families of clever children.
1988 D. Hogan Lebanon Lodge 118 His mother had reared him on raspberry jam.
2002 R. Murphy Kick (2003) 210 Their father had died a few weeks after the birth of ‘little Mary’, and their mother had reared them alone.
c. transitive. To attend to, promote, or cause the growth of (a plant); to grow (grain, etc.); = raise v.1 11a. Also in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > cultivate plants or crops [verb (transitive)]
tilla1325
raisec1384
uprearc1400
nourisha1500
cherish1519
dig1526
dress1526
govern1532
manure?c1550
rear1581
nurse1594
tame1601
crop1607
cultive1614
cultivate1622
ingentle1622
tend1631
make1714
peck1728
grow1774
farm1793
culture1809
side-dress1888
double-crop1956
produce2006
1581 Compendious Exam. Certayne Ordinary Complaints i. f. 5v Breade Corne, and Malte corne ynough besides, reared all together vpon the same lande.
1625 J. Stradling Divine Poemes iv. 136 Some shew their skill in rearing fruitfull Trees, By Orcharding and Gardning they get money.
1667 A. Cowley Garden x, in J. Wells Poems Divers Occasions sig. ¶7v He bids the rustick plum to rear A nobler Trunk and be a Peach.
1728 E. Young Love of Fame: Universal Passion (ed. 2) v. 230 In distant wilds..She rears her flow'rs.
1770 E. Burke Thoughts Present Discontents 77 It is therefore our business..to rear to the most perfect vigour and maturity, every sort of generous and honest feeling.
1782 W. Cowper Hope in Poems 156 Hopes of every sort, whatever sect Esteem them, sow them, rear them, and protect.
1835 H. Miller Scenes & Legends N. Scotl. vii. 111 In those times it was quite as customary for farmers to rear the flax which supplied them with clothing.
1871 R. Browning Prince Hohenstiel-Schwangau 52 To play at horticulture, rear some rose Or poppy into perfect leaf and bloom.
1973 K. Brathwaite Arrivants 72 It was not shame that built this hurt, Collected local stones To build the fence Conceived the plaster, Reared the tamarind tree.
2005 Science 4 Feb. 641 (caption) Leaf-cutting ants live in obligate ectosymbiosis with clonal fungi that they rear for food.
ΚΠ
1773 Session Papers in Sc. National Dict. (1965) VI. at Pursue He pays nothing else to the pursuer, out of his possession, excepting a meat goose, when he rears geese.
1799 J. Robertson Gen. View Agric. Perth 345 In the highlands every man rears, on his own farm, what butcher meat his family requires.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > rear animals [verb (intransitive)] > turn out in rearing or grow
rear1894
1894 Daily News 2 Oct. 6/6 In the counties mentioned pheasants have reared well.
III. To lift from a lower to a higher position.† 15. transitive. To turn or direct (esp. the eyes) upwards. Also with up. Obsolete.† 16. To cause to rise.† 17.
13. † c. transitive with it and intransitive. To raise anchor. Obsolete. rare.
a. transitive. To lift up or upwards as a whole; = raise v.1 19. Also: to raise unevenly, to cause to tilt (rare). Also reflexive.Sometimes also with implication of sense 1, esp. in to rear its (ugly) head at sense 13e.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > upward movement > raising > make to go up or cause to rise [verb (transitive)] > raise
heave971
hevenOE
onheaveOE
rearOE
highOE
arearc1175
to set above (also aloft, high, on high)c1275
upbraidc1275
to set upc1290
lifta1300
upheavea1300
upraisea1300
upreara1300
enhancec1300
araise1303
hance1303
uplifta1340
lift1362
raisec1384
upbear1390
uphancec1390
advancea1393
haut?a1400
to put upa1400
verec1400
hainc1440
inhigh1483
elevate1497
uphigh1513
alifta1522
height1530
heighten1530
exalt1535
extol1549
sublevate1559
rouse?1567
attol1578
elate1578
vaunce1582
dight1590
higher1592
tower1596
to fetch up1612
relevate1620
screwa1625
transcend1635
stilt1649
allevate1696
stiltify1860
OE Blickling Homilies 187 Rære up þin heafod & geseoh þis þæt Simon deþ.
a1350 (c1307) in R. H. Robbins Hist. Poems 14th & 15th Cent. (1959) 23 (MED) He wolde ha rered vp fol heyȝe oure baners.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Matt. xi. 23 Thou, Caphernaum, whether til in to heuen thou shalt be rerid vp?
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 140v Þe more briddes haue of holghnesse of pennes..þe more esiliche þey reriþ hemself and fleeþ vpward.
a1475 Bk. Curtasye (Sloane 1986) l. 754 in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 324 Wo so euer he takes þat mete to bere, Schalle not so hardy þo couertoure rere.
?c1500 Mary Magdalene (Digby) 1878 Rere vp þe seyll In all þe hast, as well as þou can.
?a1560 L. Digges Geom. Pract.: Pantometria (1571) i. xvii. sig. E iij v The nature of water is such, as by pipes it may be rered aboue the fountaine hed.
1582 S. Batman Vppon Bartholome, De Proprietatibus Rerum xii. f. 175 The more birdes haue of hollownesse of pens & multitude of feathers, and the lesse flesh, the more easily they reare themselues and flye vpward.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) ii. i. 300 When I reare my hand, do you the like To fall it on Gonzalo. View more context for this quotation
1668 N. Culpeper & A. Cole tr. T. Bartholin Anat. (new ed.) iv. vii. 165 Its Use is to rear up the Chest.
1726 A. Pope tr. Homer Odyssey V. xxii. 14 High in his hands he rear'd the golden bowl.
1771 P. Luckombe Hist. & Art of Printing 402 He rears up the Handle end of his Galley with his left hand.
1827 T. Hood Plea Midsummer Fairies xviii, in Plea Midsummer Fairies & Other Poems 10 Upon a mast rear'd far aloft, He bore a very bright and crescent blade.
1908 E. M. Forster Room with View xii. 203 Freddy reared a freckled face and a pair of snowy shoulders out of the fronds [of bracken].
1951 J. Agee Morning Watch iii. 109 Hobe reared up a rock so heavy he could lift it only clumsily, high above his reeling head.
1958 Jrnl. Warburg & Courtauld Inst. 21 86 Gloriana, the Fairy Queen.., enshrined upon a throne reared up in the midst of the ocean.
1975 J. Goulet Human Ape (1977) ii. 13 They heaved him into the back of the red vehicle... Reared by his father's great weight, the vehicle moved soberly away.
2007 T. A. Day Grey Moon over China i. 23 The helicopter reared up above the beach with its nose toward the trees, kicking up sand.
b. transitive. To have, hold, or sustain (some part) in an elevated or lofty position.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > high position > set in a high position [verb (transitive)] > have (some part) in a high position
reara1398
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. ix. xxii. 537 Floures þat beþ iclosid openyth and herbis and gras þat wolowid and fadiþ in grete hete arisiþ and reriþ vp þe heed.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iv. 699 Each beauteous flour..Rear'd high thir flourisht heads between, and wrought Mosaic. View more context for this quotation
1671 J. Milton Paradise Regain'd iv. 543 Higher yet the glorious Temple rear'd Her pile. View more context for this quotation
1757 T. Gray Ode II iii. ii, in Odes 19 Sublime their starry fronts they rear.
1781 J. Moore View Soc. Italy (1790) I. xxxv. 381 The ancient Mistress of the World rears her head in melancholy majesty.
1823 Ld. Byron Island iv. ii. 59 A black rock rears its bosom o'er the spray.
1872 H. I. Jenkinson Guide Eng. Lake District (1879) 150 Honister Crag, the grandest in the district, rears its front on the left.
1987 T. Horton Bay Country (1989) viii. 181 The mountain..rears its shaggy bulk from behind a groomed field of grain.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > berthing, mooring, or anchoring > berth, moor, or anchor (a ship) [verb (transitive)] > anchor (a ship) > loose (ship) from anchor > weigh (anchor)
weigh?a1400
loosec1440
rear?c1475
levy1648
sway1790
?c1475 in J. Gairdner Sailing Direct. (1889) 13 Yif ye..will go into Sandwiche haven, Rere it by turnyng wynde at an est south of the moone.
?c1475 in J. Gairdner Sailing Direct. (1889) 15 (MED) A man that ridith in the way of odierene at an ankre, he may begyn to rere at an est southest moone for to turne.
d. transitive (reflexive). To rise up to a great height; to tower.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > vertical extent > [verb (reflexive)] > extend to a great height
rear1655
1655 tr. A. Semedo Hist. China i. ii. 11 A great ridge of mountaines, which reare themselves upon the confines of Cantone.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth I. 11 The ground..rears itself..in lofty mountains and inaccessible cliffs.
1839 J. H. Newman Parochial Serm. (1842) IV. xvii. 298 The stately tree rears itself aloft.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. ix. 63 A steep slope of snow..reared itself against the mountain wall.
1956 R. Macaulay Towers of Trebizond xi. 117 Every now and then Armenian churches or fortresses would rear themselves up on rocky heights above us.
2005 Music Trades (Nexis) 1 Jan. 238 The Soldiers' Monument..rears itself in the air to an imposing height of 300 feet.
e. transitive. figurative. to rear its (ugly) headand variants: to make an unwelcome appearance. See also raise v.1 Phrases 8.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > occurrence > [verb (intransitive)] > make an unwelcome appearance
to come on1592
to raise its (ugly) head1683
to rear its (ugly) head1771
1771 O. Goldsmith Hist. Eng. IV. xliii. 199 The bishops were..so ardent in pursuit of temporal advantages, that every vice was rearing its head without controul.
1793 S. Horsley Serm. 5 A new form of Infidelity of late hath reared its hideous head.
1841 A. Lord Luther iii. 169 Carnage triumphant rears its ghastly head, And fell destruction riots o'er the dead!
1844 S. Smiles Hist. Irel. xxv. 256 The evil genius of monopoly now reared its ugly head in the land.
1857 A. Trollope Barchester Towers II. viii. 124 Rebellion had already reared her hideous head within the [bishop's] palace.
1946 K. Tennant Lost Haven (1947) vii. 96 Another problem reared its ugly head.
1966 B. Kimenye Kalasanda Revisited 21 Scandal of even the mildest type failed to rear its head.
1997 Frank 13 Feb. 26/2 We're committed to truncheoning down opposition wherever it may rear its ugly head.
2005 R. G. Neuhauser Cosmic Deity 243 Clearly, we might think, evil was rearing its nasty head.
14. transitive. To lift up, raise, elevate, exalt, or promote, in various figurative contexts. Now rare.Sometimes with suggestion of other senses of rear or raise.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > majesty, glory, or grandeur > exaltation or glorification > exalt or glorify [verb (transitive)]
heavec825
higheOE
brightenOE
clarifya1340
glorifya1340
enhancec1374
stellifyc1384
biga1400
exalt?a1400
raisea1400
shrinea1400
to bear up?a1425
enhighc1440
erect?a1475
assumec1503
amount1523
dignifya1530
to set up1535
extol1545
enthronize1547
augment1567
sublimate?1567
sublime1568
assumptc1571
begoda1576
royalize1589
suscitate1598
swell1601
consecrate1605
realize1611
reara1616
sphere1615
ingreata1620
superexalta1626
soara1627
ascend1628
rise1628
embroider1629
apotheose1632
grandize1640
engreaten1641
engrandizea1652
mount1651
intronificate1653
magnificent1656
superposit1661
grandify1665
heroify1677
apotheosize1695
enthrone1699
aggrandize1702
pantheonize1801
hoist1814
princify1847
queen1880
heroize1887
OE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Tiber. B.iv) anno 959 He weorðode Godes naman georne, & Godes lage smeade, oft & gelome, & Godes lof rærde, wide & side.
OE Laws of Cnut (Nero) i. xx. 300 Utan beon a urum hlaforde holde & getrywe & æfre eallum mihtum his wurðscipe ræran [L. exaltemus, sustineamus] & his willan gewyrcan.
c1330 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Auch.) (1952) 223 (MED) Auentour..haþ turned his pas Oȝaines þe king and rered mas.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1969) Jer. li. 1 Babilon &..his dwelleris..þer herte rereden aȝen me.
c1425 (?a1400) Arthur (Longleat 55) 446 (MED) Now frendes all, for goddes loue, Rereþ ȝowre hertes to god aboue.
a1500 tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi (Trin. Dublin) (1893) 32 (MED) Kepe þin herte fre & rere it up to þy god.
1590 C. Marlowe Tamburlaine: 1st Pt. sig. C4v And higher would I reare my estimate Than Iuno.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) i. ii. 316 His Cup-bearer, whom I from meaner forme Haue Bench'd, and rear'd to Worship. View more context for this quotation
1655 Bp. J. Taylor Guide Devot. (1719) 154 Thy Goodness may hereafter rear Our Souls unto thy Glory.
1775 J. Ash New Dict. Eng. Lang. (at cited word) Rearing.., raising up, exalting.
1899 A. H. Adams Maoriland 13 And my tribe, the mighty Ngatiraukawa.., Might yet rear their name into a pillar Carved with fame.
1910 H. Belloc Verses 72 Don to thine own damnation quoted, Perplexed to find thy trivial name Reared in my verse to lasting shame.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > seeing or looking > see [verb (transitive)] > look up > turn (eyes) upwards
abraidOE
to-heavec1200
reara1382
upcast1390
blenkc1400
raisea1425
shore1581
upthrow1600
society > travel > aspects of travel > travel in specific course or direction > direct (one's course, steps, etc.) [verb (transitive)] > upwards
rear1671
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Gen. xxxi. 12 Rere up þin eyȝen.
c1400 Bk. to Mother (Bodl.) 67 (MED) To þe, Lord, my face I turne, to þe myn eiȝes I rere up.
1594 T. Lodge & R. Greene Looking Glasse sig. H4 He sits him downe in sack-cloathes, his hands and eyes reared to heauen.
1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene vi. ii. sig. Aa8v The Ladie..Gan reare her eyes as to the chearefull light. View more context for this quotation
1620 F. Quarles Feast for Wormes sig. E Jonah (humbly rearing vp his eyes).
1671 J. Milton Paradise Regain'd ii. 285 Up to a hill anon his steps he rear'd . View more context for this quotation
1714 A. Pope Rape of Lock (new ed.) i. 8 To that she bends, to that her Eyes she rears.
1791 H. Siddons Wallace II. xiii. 70 Rearing his eyes, he beheld the Englishman bending beneath the force of a common Highland soldier.
1807 J. Barlow Columbiad iv. 141 O'er the dark world Erasmus rears his eye.
a. transitive. To raise (a spirit, fiend). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > the occult > sorcery, witchcraft, or magic > [verb (transitive)] > invoke (a spirit)
conjurec1290
reara1382
to call upc1390
raisec1395
devocatec1570
adjure1585
invoke1602
evoke1623
incantate1623
conjure1637
excitea1639
evocate1675
incant1926
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1963) 1 Kings xxviii. 8 Deuyne to me in a charmynge spirit & rere to me whom I schal sei to þee.
1567 A. Golding tr. Ovid Metamorphosis (new ed.) vi. f. 78v The tyrant with a hideous noyse away the table shoues: And reeres ye fiends from Hell.
b. transitive. Nautical. = raise v.1 24a. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > directing or managing a ship > direct or manage ship [verb (transitive)] > set a ship's course > come in sight of
rear1555
open1574
make1587
raise1589
1555 R. Eden Two Viages into Guinea in tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 351 In .xv. degrees, we dyd reere the crossiers.
1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 49 We reared the north starre in short space .xij. degr. and at length, 30. deg.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. (at cited word) To rear an object in view, is to rise or approach it.
c. transitive. To make (the voice) heard; = raise v.1 21. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > to sound (of voice or utterance) [verb (intransitive)] > utter sound
soundc1340
rear1591
breathe1602
phonate1878
vocalize1887
1591 J. Davies O Vtinam sig. A.iiijv They reare vp their voices aloft and saie the kingdome of heauen is at hand.
1609 J. Davies Holy Roode sig. A4 Heavn'ly Quires, by nature, do reioyce, When Art, in Graces Quire, reares Natures Uoice.
1632 G. Wither Psalmes of David cxlii. 279 My voice to thee, Oh God, I reare.
1715 S. Croxall Vision 10 Some Champion Drone his Voice might rear,And sound Church-danger in each busie Ear.
1772 N. Evans Poems on Several Occasions 84 Judah's nymphs their tuneful voices rear'd.
1817 W. Scott Harold vi. xiii. 190 When his voice he rear'd,..The powerful accents roll'd along.
1817 P. B. Shelley Laon & Cythna xi. xx. 247 His voice then did the Stranger rear.
a. transitive. To levy, raise, gather, or collect (fines, rents, etc.); = raise v.1 27a. Also with upon. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > income, revenue, or profit > getting or making money > get or make money [verb (transitive)] > receive or take money
takec1300
perceivea1382
rear1418
draw1591
rake1601
to get up1627
touch1654
1418 in Sections Assembly Bk. A Shrewsbury Guild Hall f. 110 (MED) The..peyne schall be rerede by the baillifs of the same ton.
c1475 (a1400) Sir Amadace (Taylor) in J. Robson Three Early Eng. Metrical Romances (1842) 32 (MED) A marchand of this cite Hade riche rentus to rere.
c1475 (?c1451) Bk. Noblesse (Royal) (1860) 30 Oppressid..by over gret taskis and tailis rered uppon them.
a1500 in R. R. Sharpe Cal. Let.-bks. London (1902) D. 201 (MED) The finis for suche causes made trewly ye shall rere, sparyng no persone for favour.
1574 Galway Arch. in 10th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1885) App. v. 423 xxti pound sterlinge current mony of England to be rered and levied to the commone use.
1589 W. Wren in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations i. 146 Which rent is reared onely in goates skinnes.
1621 J. Taylor Superbiæ Flagellum in All Workes (1630) 31 For he must pay his Rent, or lose his lease, And though his Father and himselfe before, Haue oft relieu'd poore beggers at their doore; Yet now his Fine and Rent so high is rear'd, That his own meat, and cloathes are scarcely clear'd.
1646 E. Buckler Midnights Medit. of Death i. iii. sig. B5v My racking land-lord rears Both rent and fine.
b. transitive. To levy or raise (an army). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military operations > distribution of troops > [verb (transitive)] > levy or mobilize
make?a1160
host1297
arear1366
araisec1386
raisea1425
to call to account1434
rearc1450
levyc1500
riga1513
erect1520
leave1590
to call to arms1592
compound1614
re-embody1685
mobilize1853
remobilize1886
c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 81 (MED) Artaxenses is at hand & has ane ost reryd.
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll.) 25 The northir hoste..were rered for the despite and rebuke that the..kyngis had at Carlyon.
1596 E. L. Romes Monarchie vii. sig., F3v Th'acayan people gathered head amaine, In Greece, and there an armie they did reare Against Romes state.
1612 J. Sylvester tr. Tropheis sig. Ddd, in E. Grimeston tr. P. Matthieu Heroyk Life Henry IV He rears an Army strongly dight, In Gulich's Claim, his wronged friends to right.
1672 Dream of Cabal in Poems Affairs State (1697) 145 Your Father 'gainst the Scots an Army rear d, But soon, that Army more than Scot he fear'd.
c. transitive. To take away from one. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > removal or displacement > remove or displace [verb (transitive)] > remove or take away
ateec885
withbreidec890
animOE
overbearOE
to do awayOE
flitc1175
reavec1175
takec1175
to have away?a1300
to draw awayc1300
weve13..
to wend awaya1325
withdrawa1325
remuec1325
to carry away1363
to take away1372
waive1377
to long awaya1382
oftakec1390
to draw offa1398
to do froa1400
forflitc1420
amove?a1425
to carry out?a1425
surtrayc1440
surtretec1440
twistc1440
abstract1449
ostea1450
remove1459
ablatea1475
araisea1475
redd1479
dismove1480
diminish?1504
convey1530
alienate1534
retire1536
dimove1540
reversec1540
subtractc1540
submove1542
sublate1548
pare1549
to pull in1549
exempt1553
to shift off1567
retract?1570
renversec1586
aufer1587
to lay offa1593
rear1596
retrench1596
unhearse1596
exemea1600
remote1600
to set off1600
subduct1614
rob1627
extraneize1653
to bring off1656
to pull back1656
draft1742
extract1804
reef1901
the world > movement > transference > [verb (transitive)] > convey or transport > off or away
atbearOE
reavec1175
heavea1240
ravishc1330
reachc1330
outbeara1400
trussa1400
remove1459
withberec1500
rapt1571
rear1596
rap1599
to carry off1684
1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene iv. vi. sig. F He in an open Turney lately held, Fro me the honour of that game did reare . View more context for this quotation
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2009; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† rearv.2
Obsolete.
transitive. To cut up or carve (a bird, spec. a goose), first removing the legs.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation for table or cooking > preparation of fowls > prepare fowls [verb (transitive)] > carve > goose
reara1450
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation for table or cooking > preparation of fowls > prepare fowls [verb (transitive)] > carve > curlew or bittern
reara1450
unjointa1450
untache1508
a1450 Terms Assoc. in PMLA (1936) 51 604 (MED) A gose reryd [v.r. reyryde]; a Swanne y lyfte.
?1478 Lydgate's Horse, Goose & Sheep (Caxton) (1822) 33 A dere broken, a ghoos rerid, a swan lyfte..a heron dismembrid.
c1500 Ffor to serve a Lord in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 374 To lose or untache a bitorn: kitte his nekke,..rere hym legge and whynge, as the heron.
1508 Bk. Keruynge (de Worde) sig. A.iv Rere that goose.
1677 Compl. Servant-maid 31 How to Rear or Break a Goose.
1694 N. H. Ladies Dict. 415/2 To rear or break a Goose, is to take off the legs very fair, then to cut off the belly piece round.
a1756 E. Haywood New Present (1771) 269 To rear a Goose.
1796 ‘A. Pasquin’ New Brighton Guide (new ed.) 21 If any are known to take pride in the ignoble science of carving, id est, to unbrace a duck, rear a goose.
1804 J. Farley London Art Cookery (ed. 10) 293 To rear a goose, cut off both legs in the manner of shoulder of lamb.
1840 W. H. Ainsworth Tower of London (1864) 412 In the old terms of his art, he leached the brawn, reared the goose.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2009; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
† rearv.3
Obsolete. rare. Nautical.
intransitive. Of a ship: to move in some way.
ΚΠ
1589 Voy. W. Towrson in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations i. 117 When I had the sight of the rest of our ships, I tooke our skiffe, and went to them, to knowe why they lost vs..and Iohn Kire made me answere, that his shippe would neither reare nor steere.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2009; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
† rearv.4
Obsolete. rare.
1. transitive. To attack in the rear.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > attack > attack [verb (transitive)] > attack on flank or rear
flank1572
rear1670
back-set1722
1670 J. Eachard Grounds Contempt of Clergy 48 He falls a fighting with his Text, and makes a pitch'd Battle of it,..he rears it, flanks it, entrenches it, storms it.
1682 J. Bunyan Holy War 347 Then the Captains fell on and began roundly to front, and flank, and rere Diabolus's Camp. View more context for this quotation
2. transitive. To strengthen in the rear.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military operations > distribution of troops > [verb (transitive)] > strengthen in rear
rear1680
1680 J. Scott Serm. before Artillery-company 2 We cannot talk in Rank and File, and Flank and Rear our Discourses with Military Allusions.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2009; most recently modified version published online September 2018).
† rearadv.1
Obsolete. rare.
In nouther avaunt ne rere: not at all, neither in front nor behind. See arrear adv.In quot. perhaps in the sense ‘neither sooner nor later’.
ΚΠ
a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) 1247 ‘Wisseth me how to gete a golden salue, And what I haue, I wele it with yow halue.’ ‘Sone, as for me, nouthir avaunte ne rere [rhyme leere].’
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2009; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
† rearadv.2
Obsolete. rare.
Early; = rare adv.2
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > day and night > day or daytime > morning > [adverb]
earlyOE
orOE
ereOE
amornOE
amorrowc1275
rathec1275
betimea1300
morningc1325
of (also in, on) morningsc1395
a-morninga1400
a-morningsc1400
betimes1481
morningly1560
in the morning1562
ante meridiem1563
timeous1566
rare1574
in a morning1591
rearly1596
timeouslyc1600
mornly1605
a.m.1651
rear1714
antemeridian1770
bright and early1805
matutinely1833
matutinally1897
ack emma1918
1714 J. Gay Shepherd's Week i. 6 O'er yonder Hill does scant the Dawn appear, Then why does Cuddy leave his Cott, so rear?
1714 J. Gay Shepherd's Week i. 11 This rising rear betokeneth well thy mind.
1787 F. Grose Provinc. Gloss. at Raid Raid, or Rear. Early. Kent.
1787 J. Thelwall Poems Var. Subj. II. 151 Death's cruel dart Hath snatch'd from me so rear thy bloomy form.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2009; most recently modified version published online June 2018).
> see also
also refers to : rear-comb. form
<
n.11567n.3a1617
adj.1lOE
adj.2n.2a1500
v.1eOEv.2a1450v.31589v.41670adv.1a1450adv.21714see also