| 释义 |
▪ I. † rear, n.1 Obs.—1
[variant of reere.]
A crash, peal.
1584Hudson Du Bartas' Judith ii. in Sylvester's Du Bartas ii. (1621) 702 At this Hebrew's prayer such a reare Of thunder fell that brought them all in feare.
▪ II. † rear, n.2 Obs. rare.
[f. rear v.1]
That which is reared or got (from cattle).
a1618Raleigh Anc. Tenures Wks. 1829 VIII. 608 Fructus not only comprehends cattle, with their wool and milk, but the rear, and that which cometh from them. Ibid. 615 The wool, or milk, or rear of them.
▪ III. rear, n.3 (and a.1)|rɪə(r)|
Also 7 reer, reare, (9) rere.
[Aphetic form of arrear n., prob. originating in the rear for th' arrear, or under the influence of rear-guard, rear-ward.
The form became current in the 17th c.; an app. instance in R. Brunne's Chron. (1810) 204 is no doubt to be taken as elliptical for rereward.]
I.
1. a. Mil. (and Naval). The hindmost portion of an army (or fleet); that division of a force which is placed, or moves, last in order. (In later use tending to pass into sense 2.)
1606Shakes. Tr. & Cr. iii. iii. 162 Like a gallant Horse falne in first ranke, Lie there for pavement to the abject reare [conj. for neere]. 1629Donne Devotions Expost. xvi. 380 When an Army marches, the vaunt may lodge to night, where the Reare comes not till to morrow. 1667Milton P.L. ii. 78 When the fierce Foe hung on our brok'n Rear Insulting. 1684Scanderbeg Rediv. vi. 137 One great Detachment following the Imperial Army fell upon their Reer. 1732T. Lediard Sethos II. x. 372 The cavalry..soon overtook the enemy's rear. 1769Falconer Dict. Marine (1780), Rear, a name given to the last division of a squadron, or the last squadron of a fleet. 1790Beatson Nav. & Mil. Mem. I. 190 Expecting that the van of the enemy would necessarily come to the assistance of their rear. 1802James Milit. 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. 1876Voyle & Stevenson Milit. Dict. 330/1 A detachment of troops which brings up and protects the rear of an army.
b. fig. and in fig. context.
1629Donne Devotions Expost. xvi. 381 That [bell] which rung to day was to bring him in his reare, in his body, to the Church. 1632Milton L'Allegro 50 While the Cock..Scatters the rear of darkness. 1671― Samson 1577 The first-born bloom of spring Nipt with the lagging rear of winters frost. 1821Shelley Hellas 339 That shattered flag of fiery cloud Which leads the rear of the departing day.
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.
1600Edmonds Obs. Cæsar's Comm., Mod. Training, When the whole Battalion being in their close order shoulde turne about and make the Rere the Front. 1651N. Bacon Disc. Govt. Eng. ii. i. 4 The King was advised to give place,..till he had tryed masteries with Scotland, and thereby secured his Rere. 1663Butler Hud. i. iii. 76 His rear was suddenly inclos'd, And no room left him for retreat. 1735Somerville Chase iii. 536 He stands at Bay against yon knotty Trunk That covers well his Rear. 1796Instr. & Reg. Cavalry (1813) 93 The Divisions marching through each other from Rear to Front. 1838Thirlwall Greece IV. xxxiv. 334 The rear, as the post of danger, he claimed for Timasion and himself. 1847Infantry Man. (1854) 40 They will carry their right foot..diagonally to their right rear. 1888P. H. Sheridan Personal Mem. II. 37 Crook..conducted his command south in two parallel columns until he gained the rear of the enemy's works.
b. The buttocks or backside. colloq.
1796True 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. 1851H. Melville Moby Dick I. xxi. 159 He put his hand upon the sleeper's rear. 1876‘Mark Twain’ Adv. 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. 1949N. R. Nash Young & Fair i. ii. 16 Just once is enough, Baby. (She slaps her on the rear) Come on—get to work. 1965H. 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.
3. a. In general use: The back, or back part, of anything; spec. the back part of a motor vehicle.
1641J. Jackson True Evang. T. iii. 191 The front, and the reare, the beginning, middle, and end of our salvation. 1667Milton P.L. ix. 497 Not with indented wave, Prone on the ground,..but on his reare, Circular base of rising foulds. 1679Moxon Mech. Exerc. ix. 152 By the width I mean the sides that range with the Front and Rear of the Building. 1864Tennyson En. Ard. 729 The ruddy square of comfortable light, Far-blazing from the rear of Philip's house, Allured him. 1966Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. 1964 xlii. 8 Rear,..the aft suspension of a car; the differential of a car; the entire aft of an automobile. 1976Evening Post (Nottingham) 16 Dec. 8/2 The 38-ton Bedford TM costs {pstlg}16,887 for the tractor business end and trailers or huge van-type rears are {pstlg}1,100 to {pstlg}1,700 extra.
b. A (public or communal) water-closet, lavatory, or latrine. Also pl. (const. as sing.). orig. School and University slang.
1902Farmer & Henley Slang VI. 4/2 Rear..(University), a jakes. 1907H. 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[see lat3]. 1946B. 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. 1969Visct. Buckmaster Roundabout ii. 30 We also had to know a Latin description of the rear, which we called Foricas.
4. In adverbial and prepositional phrases:
a. in the rear (less freq. in rear), in the hindmost part (of an army, etc.); hence, at or from the back, behind.
1600Edmonds Obs. Cæsar's Comm., Mod. Training, Another meanes to preuent the enemy his assaulting vs in the reare or flanke. 1614Raleigh Hist. World iii. (1634) 126 The horsemen..were placed on the flanks, only a troupe of the Eleans were in reare. 1689Perfect. Milit. Discipl. (1691) 20 Fall back with your right Arm and Leg, keep the Spear in the Rear. 1722Wollaston Relig. Nat. ix. 216 Followed many times by sharp reflections and bitter penances in the rear. 1782Cowper Gilpin 235 With postboy scampering in the rear, They raised the hue and cry. 1844[see front n. 5 c]. 1852Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xvii. 165 The women..saw, far in the rear,..a party of men looming up. 1857Younghusband Handbk. Field Service 208 If possible to take any enemy in rear, it should be done.
b. in (or on) one's rear, at one's back, behind one.
1639R. Baillie Lett. & Jrnls. (1861) I. 212 To..march forward, leist his unkannie trewesmen should light on to call [= drive] them up in their rear. 1653Holcroft Procopius i. 34 They began on both sides.., Vitigis and Belisarius incouraging their men in their Reares. 1745De Foe's Eng. Tradesman vi. (1841) I. 39 His payments may come in on his front as fast as they go out in his rear. 1827Southey Hist. Penins. War II. 303 A plan which was impossible, unless Soult should..allow the enemy to get in his rear. 1862Stanley Jewish Ch. (1877) I. v. 108 The huge mountain range which rose on their rear, and cut off their return.
c. in († or within) the rear of, at the back of, behind. Also in later use with at, and occas. without the.
1602Shakes. Ham. i. iii. 34 Feare it Ophelia,..And keepe within the reare of your Affection. 1643R. M. Schoole of Warre A 3 b, Half of the Muskettiers to be in the Reare of the Pikes. 1699Bentley Phal. 194 In his own time, in the Rear of so many Poets. 1815W. H. Ireland Scribbleomania 13 Slush from the ditch that's in rear of the mountain. 1852Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xv. 141 Miss Ophelia disappeared in the rear of Mammy. 1886Law Times LXXXI. 59/2 The houses were built in 1877. At the rear of them was a 9-inch sewer.
5. a. In verbal phrases: to bring up (or close) the rear, to come last in order. † to get the rear of, to get behind. to hang on one's rear, to follow closely, in order to attack when opportunity offers.
1643Sir T. Browne Relig. Med. i. §58 My desires onely are..to be but the last man, and bring up the Rere in Heaven. 1653Holcroft Procopius ii. 61 Whom he directed..to get the Reare of them, and to follow at their backs. 1667[see 1]. 1717Lady M. W. Montagu Let. to Abbé Conti 17 May, The rear was closed by the volunteers. 1728Pope Dunc. i. 308 Let Bawdry, Billingsgate..Support his front, and Oaths bring up the rear. 1759Robertson Hist. Scot. iii. (1817) I. 209 A body of the enemy hung upon their rear. 1860Tyndall Glac. i. xiv. 98 Lauener was in front,..while I brought up the rear. 1884Graphic 6 Aug. 159/1 A Lancashire army of quite as great dimensions would be able to hang on his rear.
b. In phr. front and rear used in loose construction.
1689Perfect. Milit. Discip. (1691) 28 Upon marching from your Arms, step Front and Rear together with the left Feet. 1692Hickeringill Good Old Cause Wks. 1716 II. 512 His Army stood in battalia, ready to fight the Enemy that had beset them Front and Rear. 1808Scott Marm. vi. xxxiv, Front, flank, and rear, the squadrons sweep. 1816― Antiq. xxvii, Keep thegither, front and rear.
6. One who stands in the rear of another. rare—1.
1851Mayne Reid Scalp Hunt. li. 387 The heads of the front-rank men rested between the feet of their respective ‘rears’.
II. attrib. and Comb.
7. attrib. passing into adj. Placed or situated at the back; hindmost, last.
a. In Mil. (and Naval) use of divisions of troops, etc., as rear-brigade, rear company, rear division, † rear forlorn, † rear (lorne) hope, rear-line, rear-link, rear rank, etc.
1600J. Dymmok Ireland (1843) 32 In the head of the reare lorne hope. 1623Bingham Xenophon 114, I will goe and take some of the Reare Companies. 1650Cromwell Let. 4 Sept. in Carlyle, The Enemy..had like to have engaged our rear-brigade of horse with their whole Army. 1689Perfect. Milit. Discipl. (1691) 59 The Rear half Files are to March exceeding slow. Ibid. 91 The Rear Ranks of Musketiers make Ready. 1727–41Chambers Cycl., Rear-Line, of an army encamped, is the second line; it lies about four or five hundred yards distant from the first line, or front. 1769Falconer Dict. Marine (1780), Arriere-garde, the rear-division of a squadron of vessels of war. 1796Instr. & Reg. Cavalry (1813) 95 If on a rear division. That division will be placed... The change will then be made as on a front division. 1802James Milit. Dict. s.v. Rear front, The rear-rank-men stand where the front-rank-men ought to be. 1861May Const. Hist. (1863) II. viii. 83 The halting rear-rank of their own Tory followers. 1971C. Bonington Annapurna South Face iii. 40 Lieutenant Bishnuparsad, our rear-link wireless operator, was already installed there. Ibid., He was to stay here at the pension paying-post throughout the expedition, acting as rear link and also handling all our mail. 1974T. P. Whitney tr. Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago i. iv. 167 They were vehement in their rear-line wrath (the most intense patriotism always flourishes in the rear).
b. In Mil. or general use, of things.
1667Primatt City & C. Build. 72 Front and rear walls in the first Story to be two Bricks and a half thick. c1860H. Stuart Seaman's Catech. (1862) 12 Why are the rear trucks taken off?.. To give the gun more elevation. 1862Patents, Abridg. Velocipedes (1886) I. 11 Bicycle steered by small rear wheel. 1884Mil. Engineering (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. 1920Rear pocket [see custard pie s.v. custard 2 b]. 1920T. Eaton & Co. Catal. Spring & Summer 395/3 Rear Tire Carrier suitable for all models of Ford touring cars. 1925F. Scott Fitzgerald Great Gatsby i. 10 Then there was a boom as Tom Buchanan shut the rear windows and the caught wind died out about the room. Ibid. 12 All the cars have the left rear wheel painted black as a mourning wreath. 1931E. S. Gardner in Detective Fiction Weekly 7 Mar. 325/1 One of the officers..ensconced himself in the rear seat. 1951Catal. Exhibits, Festival of Britain p. xxix, This new Foden rear-engine chassis has revolutionised normal design practice. 1952V. Canning House of Seven Flies 5 A second sailor opened the rear door of the car for him. 1964V. J. Chapman Coastal Vegetation vi. 170 Whether one is investigating fore-, mid- or rear-dunes, it will be found that the water is fresh. 1966‘A. Hall’ 9th Directive xx. 184 The car..was gathering speed..when I..got the rear door open and lurched inside. 1968Listener 26 Dec. 868/3 Following the coffee-table book comes the rear-window book: the huge unread, unreadable volume that lies on the shelf behind the back seat. 1969B. Knox Tallyman vi. 120 Rear-wheel skids should be steered into, said the rule-book. 1973Country Life 1 Mar. 540/2 Rear-seat passengers are not too badly off for leg room. 1975Ibid. 2 Jan. 32/2 A real omission here is a heated rear window... Rear wipers are likewise unknown. 1976P. R. White Planning for Public Transport iii. 56 The rear-engine layout was also adopted for single-deckers. 1978Dumfries Courier 20 Oct. 22/1 (Advt.), All are quality cars with spacious reclining seats, fitted carpets,..heated rearscreen, radial tyres, etc.
8. With adverbial force:
a. Towards the rear, as rear-directed, rear-facing.
b. From the rear, as rear-driven (so rear-drive, rear-driving), rear-lit, rear-steering; rear-illuminate, rear-project vbs.
1855Singleton Virgil I. 147 Trusting in flight and rear-directed shafts. 1887Bury & Hillier Cycling 159 (Badm. Libr.) The rear-driving safety bicycle. Ibid. 162 The old class of single-driving rear-steering tricycles. 1888Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 559/2 The evil of rear-steering is only reduced, not removed. 1904N.E.D., rear-driven. 1961Twentieth Century Feb. 124 Rear-lit cloths become more common [in the theatre]. 1970Nature 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. 1972Country Life 26 Oct. 1060/3 The rack and pinion steering is responsive yet without quite the feel of a rear-drive car. 1973Jrnl. Genetic Psychol. June 255 The stimuli..were rear-projected onto a 27·9 cm2 opaque glass screen. 1977Lancashire Life Jan. 79/1 No rear drive Citroen has been made since the 1930s. 1978Cornish Guardian 27 Apr. 24/5 (Advt.), 1973 Volvo 145 D/L Estate... Rear-facing child seats.
c. At the rear, as rear-engined, rear mounted.
1933Motor 10 Oct. 524/1 The rear-engined Trojan. 1957Sci. News Let. 23 Mar. 190/1 Rear-engined cars are here to stay. 1960Farmer & Stockbreeder 19 Jan. 90/1 In this country the accepted method of handling silage has been by means of a rear-mounted buckrake. 1975Drive New Year 102/2 The protesting chatter from the air-cooled rear-mounted engine is more a symptom of asthma than mechanical stress. 1976P. R. White Planning for Public Transport iii. 56 The higher maintenance costs and poorer availability of the rear-engined models.
9. Special combs., as rear-crew U.S., the party of men who attend to the rear of a ‘drive’ of logs; rear-cut, applied attributively to a mower having the cutting-bar in the rear of the carriage (Knight 1884); rear driver, a cycle driven by means of the rear wheel; rear echelon U.S. Mil., that section of an army concerned with administrative and supply duties; also transf.; rear end, (a) the back part or section (of anything, esp. a vehicle); (b) slang, the backside or buttocks (of a person); hence as v. trans. (N. Amer.), to collide, or cause (one's vehicle) to collide, with the rear end of another vehicle; rear-ender, a rear-end collision; rear front, † ? a covering for the wall at the back of an altar (cf. front 9 b); † the back of a building (obs.); Mil. (see quot. 1802); rear gunner, a member of the crew of a military aircraft who operates a gun from a compartment or turret at the rear of the aircraft; rear-lamp, -light, a (usu. red) lamp at the rear of a vehicle which can be switched on to serve as a warning light in the dark; rear man, Naut. (see quots.); rear mirror, a rear-view mirror (see rear-view attrib.); rear pillar (see quot. 1930); rear projection = back projection s.v. back- B; rearsight, a part of a camera viewfinder, situated at the back, to which the eye is applied; rear-steerer, a tricycle steered from the back; rear-view attrib., giving a view to the rear; spec. of a mirror inside a motor vehicle in front of the driver.
1893Scribner's Mag. June 715/1 Behind them follows the ‘*rear crew’, the name indicating the work they do.
1934Webster, *Rear echelon. 1947Amer. Speech XXII. 55 Rear echelon commando, a soldier assigned to the rear. 1967Boston Sunday Herald 7 May iii. 14/2 The number [of servicewomen] in Vietnam will remain small, chiefly because there is no large ‘rear echelon’ setup of the kind maintained in Europe in World War II. 1977P. Johnson Enemies of Society xii. 165 This shaky argument, of the type which convinced the rear echelons of the Gadarene swine, carried the day.
1868Rep. to Govt. U.S. Munitions War 97 The metallic *rear-end of the cartridge. 1926Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 19 Jan. 5/3 Two passengers were killed and fifty injured today in a rear-end collision of..two subway trains. 1937J. Weidman I can get it for you Wholesale xxviii. 268 She's a pain in the rear end. 1961Amer. Speech XXXVI. 273 Rear end,..the differentials of a tractor. 1967G. Kelly in Coast to Coast 1965–6 95 Blokes my age are sitting on their rear-ends ordering the rest..around.
1976Islander (Victoria, B.C.) 1 Aug. 3/4 A driver came to an abrupt stop in front of me. I slithered all over the wet road but did I *rearend her? Of course not. 1978Detroit Free Press 2 Apr. 3a/1 The men, who were on a chartered city bus traveling to a football game in 1972 when it was rear-ended by another bus, rejected a settlement of $500 apiece and took their case to the jury.
1932Erie Railroad Mag. Apr. 46/1 With all his fast running I never knew of him piling them up, of any but a few derailments and never a *rear-ender.
1483in Somerset Medieval Wills (1901) 144 [Also one white chalice, one] ‘frount’ [and] ‘*rerefrount’ [of] ‘Grenetarteryn’. 1703Moxon Mech. Exerc. 265 A Building, which is 25 Feet, both in the Front and Reer Front. 1802James Milit. Dict. s.v., When a battalion, troop, or company is faced about, and stands in that position, it is then said to be rear front.
1920Flight XII. 11/1 A central passage leads through to what in the military machine was the *rear gunner's cockpit, which is now occupied by the ‘postman’. 1944‘N. Shute’ Pastoral i. 3 He had developed into a very good rear-gunner in the Wimpey. 1977R.A.F. News 27 Apr.–10 May 8/2 The aircraft was hit again and again and the rear gunner was wounded.
1907Westm. Gaz. 17 Sept. 4/2 When the compulsory carrying of *rear-lamps has been suggested the proposal has always been violently resisted. 1937East London Rubber Co. Ltd. Motor Catal. 154/2 Top covers for rear lamps.
1918A. Quiller-Couch Foe-Farrell iii. 54 The car purred and glided away... We watched the *rearlight turn the corner. 1967N. Freeling Strike out where not Applicable 159 There is nothing that looks so like the rear lights of a car as the rear lights of another car. 1968*Rear mirror [see G.T. s.v. G III. f].
1859F. A. Griffiths Artil. 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. c1860H. Stuart Seaman's Catech. 12 Who places the inclined planes? The rear-man.
1930Motor Body Building LI. 105/1 *Rear pillar, a vertical frame member at the back corner of the body. 1977Rear pillar [see pillar n. 2 c].
1960Practical Wireless XXXVI. 316/2 A team of demonstrators who operated the sequence of exhibit animations, *rear projection films and synchronised sound and provided a live commentary. 1976Botham & Donnelly Valentino xii. 93 Working behind the screen, with rear-projection to help them follow the story.
1971Amateur 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. 1978Ibid. 2 Aug. 79/2 Accessories included: carrying strap, body cap, rearsight rubber eyecup, etc.
1883Browning in Knowledge 18 May 289/2, I prefer a *rear-steerer with ratchets for easy riding. 1887Bury & Hillier Cycling 374 (Badm. Libr.) The old bath-chair..front-steering tricycle is fast following the old rear-steerer into obscurity.
1926*Rear-view [see driving vbl. n. 3 a]. 1959H. Nielsen Fifth Caller xiii. 195 His face had been in the rearview mirror. 1969G. Macbeth War Quartet 17 For the moment they were framed In rear-view mirrors. 1974V. Nabokov Look at Harlequins (1975) iv. iv. 173, I see today..the rearview reflection of that sweet wild past.
▪ IV. rear, a.2 Obs. exc. dial.|rɪə(r)|
Forms: 1 hrer, 4–7 (9 dial.) rere, 6 reere, 6–7 (9 dial.) reer, 6–7 reare, 6–8, 9 dial. rear. See also rare a.1
[OE. hrér, of uncertain origin.]
Slightly or imperfectly cooked, underdone. In early use only of eggs.
c1000Sax. Leechd. II. 272 Nim scamoniam..& hrer henne æᵹ swiðe sealt. [Cf. Ibid. III. 294 On an hreren⁓bræden æᵹ.] c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 58 Þe broþis of fleisch,..& rere eyren, & smale fischis. a1450Knt. de la Tour (1868) 27 Thei had atte her dyner rere eggis. 1532More Confut. Tindale Wks. 667/2 Supping of a rere roten egge. 1584Cogan Haven Health cxciii. (1636) 174 Rere egges,..that is to say little more than through hot. 1655Culpepper, etc. Riverius iv. vii. 121 Let the Patient abstain..from Wine, Flesh, and Rear Eggs. 1731Medley Kolben's Cape G. Hope I. 201 The Hottentots,..love their victuals, whether roasted or boil'd, should be very rear. a1796Pegge Derbicisms Ser. ii, Rear, meat underdone. a1825in Forby Voc. E. Anglia. 1865–in dial. glossaries (Cumbld., Durham, Lancs., Yks., Lincs., Shropsh., Dorset, Hants, etc.).
transf. or fig.1620Middleton & Rowley World Tost Wks. (Dyce) V. 192 I'll have thee ramm'd Into a culverin else, and thy rear flesh Shot all into poach'd eggs. 1625Middleton Game at Chess iv. ii, Can a soft rear, poor poach'd iniquity So ride vpon thy conscience?
b. As complement with verbs.
1542Boorde Dyetary xii. (1870) 264 Let the egge be newe, and roste hym reare. 1700Dryden Ovid's Met., Baucis & Phil. 98 New laid Eggs, which Baucis busie Care Turn'd by a gentle Fire, and roasted rear.
c. Comb. (cf. quot. c 1000 above), as rear-boiled, rear-dressed, rear-poached, rear-roasted.
1548Elyot s.v. Ouum, Sorbile ouum, a reere rosted egge. 1576Baker Jewell of Health 55 The hearbe [Eyebright]..eaten euerie day in a reare potched Egge. 1586Bright Melanch. xxxix. 253 Eggs..reare dressed somewhat. 1626Bacon Sylva §53 Eggs (so they be Potched, or Reare boyled). 1656Heylin Surv. France 260 A dish of Egges, rear-roasted by the flame.
▪ V. rear, v.1|rɪə(r)|
Forms: 1 rǽran, 3 ræren, 3, 4 reren, 5 reryn; 4–6 rere, 5, 6 reere, (3) 6 reare, 7– rear; (6–7 rair, 9 dial. rare).
[OE. rǽran (:—OTeut. *raizjan) = Goth. -raisjan, ON. reisa, to raise. OE. had also árǽran arear (in use down to the 17th c.).
The main senses of rear run parallel with those of the Scandinavian equivalent raise, but the adopted word has been much more extensively employed than the native, and has developed many special senses which are rarely or never expressed by rear. Hence, on the one hand, rear has in many applications been almost or altogether supplanted by raise, a process which is clearly seen in the usage of the Wyclif Bible (see note to raise; in the version of 1611 rear is found only in 1 Esdr. v. 62, while raise is freely employed). On the other hand, it is probable that rear has sometimes, esp. in poetry, been used as a more rhetorical substitute for raise, without independent development of the sense involved. As in the case of raise there is some overlapping of the senses, and occasional uncertainty as to the precise development or meaning of transferred uses.]
I. To set up on end; to make to stand up.
1. a. trans. To bring (a thing) to or towards a vertical position; to set up, or upright. = raise 1.
Frequently with suggestion of senses 8 or 11, and now usually implying a considerable height in the thing when raised.
a1000Cædmon's Gen. 1675 (Gr.) Ceastre worhton & to heofonum up hlædræ rærdon. c1205Lay. 1100 Heo rærden heora mastes. Ibid. 17458 Mærlin heom [the stones] gon ræren [c 1275 reare] alse heo stoden ærer. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) V. 455 Þe place þere Oswaldus knelede and rerede a crosse. c1400Sowdone Bab. 2658 Thai rered the Galowes in haste. 1530Palsgr. 687/2 It is a great deale longer than one wolde have thought it afore it was reared up. 1571Digges Pantom. i. xxix. I j b, Fixing on the dimetient thereof two sightes perpendicularly reared. 1631Weever Anc. Funeral Mon. 637 A broken peece of a faire marble stone, reared to the side of a pillar. 1688Prior Ode Exodus iii 108 That Ladder which old Jacob rear'd. 1725Pope Odyss. xi. 3 At once the mast we rear, at once unbind The spacious sheet. 1822W. Irving Braceb. Hall xxvi. 225 The May-pole was reared on the green. 1847Tennyson Princ. v. 404 Your very armour hallow'd, and your statues Rear'd.
refl.1596Drayton Legends iv. 933 The Corne..being once downe, it selfe can never reare.
b. spec. of setting up the crust of a pie. Now dial. = raise 1 c.
c1420Liber Cocorum (1862) 34 Take floure and rere the cofyns fyne, Wele stondande withouten stine. 1588Shakes. Tit. A. v. ii. 189 Of the Paste a Coffen I will reare. 1879–in dial. glossaries (Chesh., Shropsh., Warw.).
2. a. To lift (a person or animal) to or towards an erect or standing posture; usually, to set (one) on one's feet, assist to rise. Now chiefly dial.
1590Spenser F.Q. i. viii. 40 He found the meanes that Prisoner vp to reare, Whose feeble thighes..him scarse to light could beare. Ibid. x. 35 She held him fast, and firmely did upbeare; As carefull nourse her child from falling oft does reare. 1667Milton P.L. xi. 758 Till gently reared By th' Angel, on thy feet thou stood'st at last. 1667N. Fairfax in Phil. Trans. II. 457 Nor could she lie flat, but rear'd up with pillows. 1769Sir W. Jones Pal. Fort. in Poems (1777) 30 The Matron with surprize her daughter rears.
b. refl. To get up on one's feet, to rise up (rare); also of animals, to rear (sense 15 b).
c1580Sidney Ps. iii. iii, I laid me downe and slept,..And safe from sleepe I rear'd me. 1591Spenser M. Hubberd 237 Eftsoones the Ape himselfe gan up to reare. 1749Fielding Tom Jones iv. xiii, The unruly beast presently reared himself an end on his hind-legs. 1856Kane Arct. Expl. II. xv. 164 He [a bear] will rear himself upon his hind-legs.
c. So with body, etc. as object. Chiefly refl.
1593Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iii. ii. 34 Helpe Lords, the King is dead. Som. Rere vp his Body, wring him by the Nose. 1610Willet Hexapla Daniel 137 Whereas before he went groueling..now he reareth vp his bodie. 1667Milton P.L. i. 221 Forthwith upright he rears from off the Pool His mighty Stature. 1810Shelley St. Irvyne iii. xvi, Her skeleton form the dead Nun rear'd. 1815― Alastor 182 He reared his shuddering limbs.
d. To cause (a horse) to rear. rare—1.
1814Southey Roderick xxv, He raised his hand, and rear'd and back'd the steed.
†3.
a. To raise from the dead. Obs. = raise 3.
c1320Sir Beues (MS. A) 2839 Lord, þat rerede þe Lazaroun. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) IV. 461 Iulianus..rered þre men fro deth to lyve. 1572R. H. tr. Lavaterus' Ghostes (1596) 177 [Saule] sought helpe of a witch to reare Samuel from the dead.
refl.c1450Lonelich Grail xlix. 201 Ȝif that to lyve he rere him Ageyn thanne ben they myhty [gods].
†b. To raise (a person) to, out of, or from a certain condition. Obs.
Connexion with sense 17 is also possible. Cf. raise 19.
c1450tr. De Imitatione iii. lxii. 145, I am it þat rere to helth hem þat morneþ. c1580Sidney Ps. xxxiv. ix, God shall him to safety reare, When most he seemes opprest. 1590Spenser F.Q. iii. i. 64 Their Ladye..they reard out of her frosen swownd. 1624Quarles Div. Poems, Job (1717) 187 Then doubt not, but he'll rear thee from thy sorrow.
4. To cause to rise:
a. To rouse from bed or sleep. Obs. exc. dial. = raise 4 a.
a1000Riddles iv. 73 (Gr.) Saᵹa hwæt ic hatte oþþe hwa mec rære, þonne ic restan ne mot. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 77 [To pray] þat he..weche us of ure heuie slape and rere us of ure fule lust bedde. 13..E.E. Allit. P. C. 188 Þer ragnel in his rakentes hym rere of his dremes. 1382Wyclif Jer. xxxi. 26 Therfore as fro slep I am rered. c1440Promp. Parv. 430/2 Reryn, or revyn of slepe, infra in wakyn', excito. 1886Elworthy W. Som. Word-bk., Rear, to rouse; to disturb.
†b. To rouse or dislodge (a beast of chase, spec. a boar) from covert. Obs. = raise 4 b.
1486Bk. St. Albans E iv, Whiche beestes shall be reride with the lymer. 1575Turberv. Venerie xl. 115 Beating and following vntill they haue reared and found the Harte againe. 1582Stanyhurst æneis i. (Arb.) 28 Rearing with shoutcry soom boare. 1685Dryden tr. Horace Epode ii, Into the naked Woods he goes And seeks the tusky Boar to rear. a1700B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Rear the Boar, dislodge him. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) III. 174 When the boar is rear'd, as is the expression for driving him from his covert. 1846Youatt Pig iv. (1847) 37 When first the animal was ‘reared’, he contented himself with slowly going away.
5. To rouse up for common action. Obs. exc. dial. = raise 5.
c1400Beryn 2905 [He] made an hidouse Cry,..& rerid vp al þe town. 1460Paston Lett. I. 506 The kyng cometh to London ward, and..rereth the pepyll as he come. 1464Ibid. II. 148 That..he rere the contre and take hem and bryng hem to the Kyng. 1593Shakes. Rich. II, iv. i. 145 If you reare this House against this House. 1864Barnes Dorset Gloss., Rear,..to rouse; to excite. 1878Cumbld. Gloss., Rear,..rally, bring up. 1891T. Hardy Tess (1900) 143/1 There are sixteen of us on the Plain, and the whole country is reared.
†6. To arouse, animate, stimulate. Obs. = raise 6.
1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 97 b, Therfore rere vp thy courage & shewe thy manhode. 1621Burton Anat. Mel. ii. ii. vi. iii. (1651) 299 A roaring-meg against Melancholy, to rear and revive the languishing soul. 1647H. More Song of Soul ii. i. ii. ii, New strength my vitals doth invade And rear again, that earst began to fade.
II. To build up, create, bring into existence.
7. a. To construct by building up. = raise 8.
It is not clear whether the common OE. phrase Godes (or dryhtnes) lof rǽran is a fig. use of this sense, or is to be associated with branch III.
a900tr. Bæda's Hist. iii. ii[i]. (1890) 158 He Cristes cirican in his rice ᵹeornlice timbrede & rærde. a1000Cædmon's Gen. 1880 (Gr.) Ongunnon him þa bytlian & heora burh ræran. c1205Lay. 15459 Ich faren wulle to þan munte of Reir & ræren þer castel. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 5408 Abbeys he rerde monion In mony studes. 1382Wyclif Gen. xxxiii. 20 And there, an auter reryd, he..clepide vpon the..God of Israel. 1479Nottingham Rec. II. 390 That the seid howse be fenysshit, reryd and made upp. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VIII 73 A tower..rered by great crafte. 1590Spenser F.Q. iii. x. 52 Amongst the hives to reare An hony combe. 1634Milton Comus 798 Till all thy magick structures rear'd so high, Were shatter'd into heaps. 1697Dryden Virg. Ecl. ii. 30 When summon'd Stones the Theban Turrets rear'd. 1779J. Moore View Soc. Fr. (1789) I. xlviii. 408 He had reared a building greatly larger. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. v. I. 629 Her family reared a sumptuous mausoleum over her remains. 1874Green Short Hist. iii. §4. 129 The canons..reared the church which still exists as the diocesan cathedral.
fig.1772Mackenzie Man World i. ii. (1803) 421 The fall of those hopes we had been vainly diligent to rear. 1781Cowper Table-t. 532 From him who rears a poem lank and long, To him who strains his all into a song. 1812Miss Mitford in L'Estrange Life (1870) I. vi. 193 How weak the fame the lowly songstress rears.
†b. To bring into existence; to cause to arise or appear. Obs. = raise 9, 11.
In the Wyclif Bible (up to the end of Jeremiah) rere is regularly employed to render L. suscitāre in the above senses: it is not quite clear whether the underlying idea belongs here or to branch I.
1382Wyclif Gen. xxxviii. 8 Go yn to the wijf of thi brother..that thou rere seed to thi brother. ― 1 Sam. ii. 35, I shal rere to me a trewe preest. 1591Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, iv. vii. 92 From their ashes shall be reard A Phœnix.
†8.
a. To originate, bring about, set going (a state or condition of things, esp. one which causes trouble or annoyance); to commence and carry on (some action, esp. war). Obs. = raise 12, 14.
a900Cynewulf Christ 689 God..sibbe ræreþ ece to ealdre engla & monna. a1023Wulfstan Hom. xxxiii. (1883) 156 Dæᵹhwamlice man ihte yfel æfter oðrum, and unriht rærde. c1052O.E. Chron. (MS. C.) an. 1052 Ealle Frencisce men þe ær unlaᵹe rærdon. 12..Moral Ode 172 (Egerton MS.) Þo scullen habben hardne dom..þa þe euele heolden wreche men & vuele laȝes rerde. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 8987 Erl thebaud..bigan to rere worre vpe þe king of france. c1330Florice & Bl. (1857) 685 We han irerd this schame and schonde. 1382Wyclif 2 Sam. xii. 11, I shal rere vpon thee yuel of thin hows. a1450Myrc 1243 Hast þow reret any debate. 1494Fabyan Chron. vii. 454 Which tempest, after y⊇ oppynyon of some wryters, was reryd by y⊇ negromauncers of y⊇ Frenshe Kynge. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. IV 10 If any persones would presume to rere warre or congregate a multitude. 1577J. Northbrooke Dicing (1843) 25 Rearing vp slanders vpon the preachers of the worde of God. 1590Spenser F.Q. ii. vi. 21 Her mery fitt she freshly gan to reare. Ibid. xii. 22 Unweeting what such horrour straunge did reare.
b. To make (a noise) by shouting; to utter (a cry); to begin to sing. rare. = raise 13. Obs.
Also associated with (or originating in) branch III.
13..E.E. Allit. P. B. 873 Þenne þe rebaudez so ronk rered such a noyse. c1330Arth. & Merl. 6417 (Kölbing) Þe paiens..gun rere a wel foule crie. 1382Wyclif Isa. xv. 5 The cri of contricioun thei shul rere [L. levabunt]. c1500in Arnolde Chron. (1811) 94 Ye shall rere vp hue and crye and..folowe theym fro strete to strete. 1784Cowper Task vi. 662 The simple clerk..did rear right merrily, two staves, Sung to the praise and glory of King George.
9. a. To bring (animals) to maturity or to a certain stage of growth by giving proper nourishment and attention; esp. to attend to the breeding and growth of (cattle, etc.) as an occupation. = raise 9 b, 10 b.
c1420Pallad. on Husb. i. 610 The pocok me may rere vp [L. nutrire] esely If beestes wilde or theuys hem ne greue. 1523Fitzherb. Husb. §8 That countrey is not for men to kepe husbandry vppon, but for to rere and brede catell or shepe. Ibid. §66 Yet is it better to the housbande, to sell those calues, than to rere them, bycause of the cost. [1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 668 Thoughtless of his Eggs, [the snake] forgets to rear The hopes of Poison, for the following Year. ]1759Brown Compl. Farmer 49 It is a common saying, the worst housewife will rear the best pigs. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) II. 248 Those persons whose employment it is to rear up pigeons of different colours, can breed them..to a feather. 1805R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. II. 985 Calves reared in this manner are to be enticed to eat hay as early as possible. 1844H. Stephens Bk. Farm III. 845 No man rears a stallion for the use of his own mares only. 1863Sat. Rev. 11 July 49 Man devotes his energies to the..employment of rearing pigs.
b. To bring up (a person), to foster, nourish, educate. = raise 10.
1590Shakes. Mids. N. ii. i. 136 For her sake I doe reare vp her boy. 1605Sylvester Du Bartas ii. iii. iii. Lawe 180 She takes him up and rears him royall-like. 1671Milton Samson 555 God with these forbid'n made choice to rear His mighty Champion. 1784Cowper Task vi. 38 We loved, but not enough, the gentle hand That reared us. 1803J. Davis Trav. U.S. 215 This gentleman..is not only a Latin, but a Greek Scholar. He was reared at Cambridge. 1879M. Pattison Milton 179 When Milton was being reared, Calvinism was not old and effete.
absol.1850Tennyson In Mem. xl, Her office there to rear, and teach.
c. To attend to, promote, or cause the growth of (plants); to grow (grain, etc.). = raise 10 c. Also const. into.
1581W. Stafford Exam. Compl. i. (1876) 19 Breade Corne, and Malte corne ynough, besides, reared alltogether vpon the same lande. 1728Young Love Fame v. 230 In distant wilds..She rears her flow'rs. 1784Cowper Task vi. 753 Happy to rove among poetic flowers, Though poor in skill to rear them. 1810Scott Lady of L. v. vii, While on yon plain The Saxon rears one shock of grain. 1834H. Miller Scenes & Leg. v. (1857) 61 In those times it was quite as customary for farmers to rear the flax which supplied them with clothing. 1871R. Ellis tr. Catullus lxii. 50 A flower..rear'd by the showers. 1871Browning Pr. Hohenst. 52 To play at horticulture, rear some rose Or poppy into perfect leaf and bloom.
transf.1728–46Thomson Spring 1148 Delightful task! to rear the tender thought, To teach the young idea how to shoot. 1770Burke Pres. Discont. Wks. II. 340 It is therefore our business..to rear to the most perfect vigour and maturity, every sort of generous and honest feeling. 1781Cowper Hope 295 Hopes of every sort, whatever sect Esteem them, sow them, rear them, and protect.
d. To raise or grow (meat or food).
1799J. Robertson Agric. Perth 345 In the highlands every man rears, on his own farm, what butcher meat his family requires.
III. To lift from a lower to a higher position.
10. a. To lift up or upwards as a whole. = raise 17.
Sometimes also with implication of sense 1, esp. in to rear the head.
971Blickl. Hom. 187 Rære up þin heafod & ᵹeseoh þis þæt Simon deþ. c1320Sir Tristr. 1391 Þai rered goinfay⁓noun. 1382Wyclif Exod. x. 13 A brennynge wynd reride vp locustes. ― Matt. xi. 23 And thou, Caphernaum, whether til in to heuen thou shalt be rerid vp? c1450Bk. Curtasye 754 in Babees Bk., Who so euer he takes þat mete to bere Schalle not so hardy þo couertoure rere. c1485Digby Myst. iii. 1878 Rere vp þe seyll In all þe hast, as well as þou can. 1571Digges Pantom. i. xvii. E iij b, The nature of water is such, as by pipes it may be rered aboue the fountaine hed. 1610Shakes. Temp. ii. i. 295 When I reare my hand, do you the like To fall it on Gonzalo. 1668Culpepper & Cole Barthol. Anat. iv. vii. 165 Its Use is to rear up the Chest. 1726Pope Odyss. xxii. 14 High in his hands he rear'd the golden bowl. 1827Hood Mids. Fairies xviii, Upon a mast rear'd far aloft, He bore a very bright and crescent blade. 1864Tennyson En. Ard. 752 The babe, who rear'd his creasy arms.
refl.1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xii. i. (Bodl. MS.), Þe more brides haueþ of holownes of pennes..þe more eselich þei rereþ þemsilf and fleeþ vpward.
b. To have, hold, or sustain (some part) in an elevated or lofty position. (Also quasi-refl.) fig. phr. to rear its (ugly) head, and varr. = to raise its (ugly) head s.v. raise v.1 17 e.
1667Milton P.L. iv. 699 Each beauteous flour..Rear'd high thir flourisht heads between, and wrought Mosaic. 1671― P.R. iv. 546 Higher yet the glorious Temple rear'd Her pile. 1757Gray Bard 112 Sublime their starry fronts they rear. 1781J. Moore View Soc. It. (1790) I. xxxv. 381 The ancient Mistress of the World rears her head in melancholy majesty. 1823Byron Island iv. ii, A black rock rears its bosom o'er the spray. 1857Trollope Barchester T. II. viii. 124 Rebellion had already reared her hideous head within the [bishop's] palace. 1872Jenkinson Guide Eng. Lakes (1879) 150 Honister Crag, the grandest in the district, rears its front on the left. 1946K. Tennant Lost Haven (1947) vii. 96 Another problem reared its ugly head. 1966B. Kimenye Kalasanda Revisited 21 Scandal of even the mildest type failed to rear its head. 1971Daily Tel. 5 July 1 The problem of broken rails is rearing its ugly head again in the current spate of railway accidents. 19760–10 Cricket Scene (Austral.) 21/1 They crumbled as their inexperience reared its ugly head.
c. refl. To rise up to a height, to tower.
1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1862) I. ii. 10 The ground..rears itself..in lofty mountains and inaccessible cliffs. 1839J. H. Newman Par. Serm. (1842) IV. xvii. 298 The stately tree rears itself aloft. 1860Tyndall Glac. i. ix. 63 A steep slope of snow..reared itself against the mountain wall.
†d. absol. or with it. To raise anchor. Obs.
14..Sailing Directions (Hakluyt Soc. 1889) 13 Yif ye Ride in the Doowns and will go into Sandwiche haven, Rere it by turnyng wynde at an est south of the moone. Ibid. 15 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.
11. To lift up, raise, elevate, exalt, in various fig. applications (sometimes with suggestion of other senses of rear or raise). Now rare or Obs.
1382Wyclif Jer. li. 1 Babilon and..his dwelleris, that ther herte rereden aȝen me. c1450tr. De Imitatione i. xxiii. 32 Kepe þin herte fre & rere it up to þy god. 1586Marlowe 1st Pt. Tamburl. iii. ii, And higher would I rear my estimate Than Iuno. 1611Shakes. Wint. T. i. ii. 314 His Cup-bearer, whom I from meaner forme Haue bench'd, and rear'd to Worship. 1637R. Ashley tr. Malvezzi's David Persecuted 5 The same action which at one time hath reared up a Prince, should..sink him. 1655Jer. Taylor Guide Devot. (1719) 154 Thy Goodness may hereafter rear Our Souls unto thy Glory.
12. To turn or direct (esp. the eyes) upwards.
1596Spenser F.Q. vi. ii. 42 The Ladie..Gan reare her eyes as to the chearefull light. 1621Quarles Div. Poems, Esther (1717) 14 Jonah (humbly rearing up his eyes). 1671Milton P.R. ii. 285 Up to a hill anon his steps he rear'd. 1712–14Pope Rape Lock i. 126 To that she bends, to that her eyes she rears. 1807J. Barlow Columb. iv. 135 O'er the dark world Erasmus rears his eye.
13. To cause to rise:
a. Naut. = raise 23 a.
1555Eden Decades 351 In .xv. degrees we dyde reere the crossiers. 1559W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 49 We reared the north starre in short space .xij. degr. and at length, 30. deg. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. s.v., To rear an object in view, is to rise or approach it.
†b. To raise (a fiend). Obs.
1567Golding Ovid's Met. vi. (1593) 148 The tyrant with a hideous noise away the table shooves, And reares the fiends from hell.
c. To make (the voice) heard. = raise 21.
1817Scott Harold vi. xiii, When his voice he rear'd,..The powerful accents roll'd along. 1818Shelley Rev. Islam xi. xx, His voice then did the stranger rear.
†14.
a. To levy, raise, gather, collect (fines, rents, etc.). Obs. = raise 25. Also const. upon.
c1420Sir Amadace (Camden) xii, A marchand of this cite, Hade riche rentus to rere. 1449Rolls of Parlt. V. 144/2 A Subsidie to be take and rereyd of al manere Prests seculers. 1475Bk. Noblesse (Roxb.) 30 Oppressid..by over gret taskis and tailis rered uppon them. 1574Galway Arch. in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. V. 423, xxti pound sterlinge current mony of England to be rered and levied to the commone use. 1599Hakluyt Voy. II. ii. 60 Which rent is reared onely in goats skinnes.
†b. To levy, raise (an army). Obs.—1
a1400–50Alexander 81 Artaxenses is at hand & has ane ost reryd, And resyn vp with all his rewme.
†c. To take away from one. Obs.—1
1596Spenser F.Q. iv. vi. 6 He, in an open Turney lately held, Fro me the honour of that game did reare.
IV.
15. a. intr. To rise up (towards a vertical position or into the air); to rise high, to tower.
Spec. in Husb. of a furrow-slice: see quots. 1523 and 1790.
13..E.E. Allit. P. B. 366 Þe mukel lauande loghe to þe lyfte rered. Ibid. 423 Ofte hit roled on-rounde & rered on ende. 1523Fitzherb. Husb. §16 Lette the husbande..plowe a brode forowe and a depe..and lay it flat, that it rere not on the edge. 1790W. Marshall Mid. Counties (1796) II. Gloss. (E.D.S.) Rear, to rise up before the plow, as the furrows sometimes do in plowing. 1840Dickens Old C. Shop xxxviii, The loftiest steeple that now rears proudly up from the midst of guilt. 1881Scribner'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.
b. intr. Of a quadruped, esp. a horse: To rise on the hind feet. Also with it.
1375Barbour Bruce xiv. 69 Hobynis, that war stekit thar, Rerit and flang. 1592Shakes. Ven. & Ad. 279 Sometimes he trots,..Anon he reres vpright, curuets, and leaps. 1611Cotgr., Cabrer, to reare, or stand vpright on the hinder feet;..as a Goat, or Kid that brouses on a tree. 1761Sterne Tr. Shandy III. xxxvi, Let me beg of you, like an unback'd filly..to jump it, to rear it, to bound it. 1800Coleridge Wallenstein iv. iv, His charger, by a halbert bored, rear'd up. 1870Emerson Soc. & Solit. x. 207 When he began to rear, they were so frightened that they could not see the horse.
fig.1629Gaule Holy Madn. 92 How he reares in the Necke. a1761Johnson in Boswell an. 1780 Johnson..professed that he could bring him out into conversation, and used this illusive expression, ‘Sir, I can make him rear’. 1899Scribner's Mag. Jan. 98/1 [He] is a brave man and has been known to rear on occasions.
c. trans. To throw off by rearing. nonce-use.
1852Bailey Festus xxii. (ed. 3) 395 Earth rear off her cities As a horse his rider.
16. intr. To turn out (well or ill) in course of, or after, rearing (in sense 9).
1894Daily News 2 Oct. 6/6 In the counties mentioned pheasants have reared well.
▪ VI. rear, v.2 Obs. exc. arch.|rɪə(r)|
Also 5–6 rere.
[Of obscure origin.]
trans. To cut up or carve (a fowl, spec. a goose).
c1470in Hors, Shepe & G. (Caxton 1479, Roxb. repr.) 33 A dere broken, a ghoos rerid, a swan lyfte..a heron dismembrid. c1500For to serve a Lord in Babees Bk. 374 To lose or untache a bitorn: kitte his nekke,..rere hym legge and whynge, as the heron. a1756Mrs. Heywood New Present (1771) 269 To rear a Goose. 1804Farley London Art Cookery (ed. 10) 293 To rear a goose, cut off both legs in the manner of shoulder of lamb. 1840H. Ainsworth Tower of London (1864) 412 In the old terms of his art, he leached the brawn, reared the goose.
▪ VII. † rear, v.3 Obs. rare.
[f. rear n.3]
1. trans. To attack or assail in the rear.
1670Eachard Cont. Clergy 48 He falls a fighting with his text, and makes a pitch'd battel of it,..he rears it, flanks it, entrenches it, storms it. 1682Bunyan Holy War xv, Then the captains fell on, and began roundly to front and flank and rear Diabolus' camp.
2. To strengthen in the rear.
1680J. Scott Serm. bef. Artillery Comp. Wks. 1718 II. 24 We cannot talk in Rank and File, Flank and Rear our Discourses with Military Allusions.
▪ VIII. † rear, v.4 Obs.—1 Naut.
(Of obscure origin and meaning.)
1599Hakluyt Voy. II. ii. 40, I tooke our skiffe and went to them to know why they lost vs,..and Iohn Kire made me answere that his ship would neither reare nor steere.
▪ IX. † rear, adv.1 Obs.—1
= arrear adv.
The sense of the passage is not clear; the phrase may mean simply ‘not at all’.
c1412Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 1247 Sone, as for me, nouthir avaunte ne rere.
▪ X. † rear, adv.2 Obs. rare.
= rare adv.2 Early.
1714Gay Sheph. Week i. 6 O'er yonder Hill does scant the Dawn appear, Then why does Cuddy leave his Cott so rear? Ibid. 11 This rising rear betokeneth well thy mind.
▪ XI. rear
dial. variant of roar v. |