rear

rear · verb¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*h₁rey-“to lift oneself, rise”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*raizijaną
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*raiʀijan
4. Old English · inherited fromrǣran“to raise, set upright, promote, exalt, begin, create, give rise to, excite, rouse, arouse, stir up”
5. Middle English · inherited fromreren“to raise”
6. English todayrear

From Middle English reren (“to raise”), from Old English rǣran (“to raise, set upright, promote, exalt, begin, create, give rise to, excite, rouse, arouse, stir up”), from Proto-West Germanic *raiʀijan, from Proto-Germanic *raizijaną, *raisijaną (“to cause to rise, raise”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rey- (“to lift oneself, rise”). Cognate with Scots rere (“to construct, build, rear”), Icelandic reisa (“to raise”), Gothic 𐍂𐌰𐌹𐍃𐌾𐌰𐌽 (raisjan, “to cause to rise, lift up, establish”), German reisen (“to travel”, literally “to rear up and depart”); and a doublet of raise. More at rise. Related to rise and raise, which is used for several of its now archaic or obsolete senses and for some of its senses that are currently more common in other dialects of English.

rear · adjective, adverb, noun, verb²

1. Latin · derived fromretro
2. Anglo-Norman · derived fromrere
3. Middle English · inherited fromrere
4. English todayrear

From Middle English rere, from Anglo-Norman rere, ultimately from Latin retro. Compare arrear. Doublet of retro.

rear · verb³

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*ḱroHs-“to mix, stir, cook”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*hrōzijaną“to stir”
3. Old English · inherited fromhrēran“to move, shake, agitate”
4. Middle English · inherited fromreren
5. English todayrear

From Middle English reren, from Old English hrēran (“to move, shake, agitate”), from Proto-Germanic *hrōzijaną (“to stir”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱroHs- (“to mix, stir, cook”). Cognate with Dutch roeren (“to stir, shake, whip”), German rühren (“to stir, beat, move”), Swedish röra (“to touch, move, stir”), Icelandic hræra (“to stir”).

rear · adjective⁴

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*ḱroHs-“to mix, stir, cook”
2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*hrōzijaną“to stir”
3. Old English · inherited fromhrēr
4. Middle English · inherited fromrere
5. English todayrear

From Middle English rere, from Old English hrēr, hrēre (“not thoroughly cooked, underdone, lightly boiled”), from hrēran (“to move, shake, agitate”), from Proto-Germanic *hrōzijaną (“to stir”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱroHs- (“to mix, stir, cook”). Related to Old English hrōr (“stirring, busy, active, strong, brave”), Dutch roeren (“to stir, shake, whip”), German rühren (“to stir, beat, move”), Swedish röra (“to touch, move, stir”), Icelandic hræra (“to stir”).

Words from the same roots