aren

A1R1E1N1

A form of be — Used with past participles of verbs to form the passive voice.

OriginMiddle English aren ← Old English earon →
Less commonScrabble 4
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Meanings

verb

alternative arn

  1. dialectalfirst personobsoletepluralpresentfirst-person plural simple present of be
  2. dialectalobsoletepluralpresentsecond personsecond-person plural simple present of be

    “Ye're not Irish, aren ye?” “No, we're from Canada.”

    2007, Theresa Kishkan, Phantom Limb, page 154
  3. dialectalobsoletepluralpresentthird personthird-person plural simple present of be

Origin

  1. Old Englishbēon“to be”
  2. Old Englishearon
  3. Middle Englisharen
  4. Englisharen

From Middle English aren, from Old English earon, earun, present plural indicative of Old English bēon (“to be”). Equivalent to are + -en. More at are.

More words from Middle English, Old English

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

nearearnArneRaneNerareannare
Cite this entry
APA

aren. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aren

MLA

“aren.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aren. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “aren,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aren.

Source: aren on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.