arrear

comparative more arrear · superlative most arrear

1. obsoleteTowards the rear, backwards.First known use 14th–16th c.

   She, (Ladie) having well before approoved / The feends to be too cruell and severe, / Observ'd th' appointed way, as her behooved, / Ne ever did her ey-sight turne arere [...].

   1591, Edmund Spenser, Virgil's Gnat, ll. 465-8

2. obsoleteBehind time; overdue.First known use 15th–19th c.

   In case the annuity should be arrear for sixty days being lawfully demanded, then the trustee might enter upon the premises assigned [...].

   1803, Edward Hyde East, Reports of cases Argued and determined in the Court of King's Bench, volume 3, London, published 1814, page 559

plural arrears

1. Work to be done, obligation.

   November 4, 1866, James David Forbes, letter to E. C. Batten I have a large arrear of letters to write.

   2 more examples

   My own work, with its manifold arrears, took me all day to clear off.

   1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula, Westminster [London]: Archibald Constable and Company, […], →OCLC

   After World War II it took time to clear up the arrears of track maintenance on both lines and it was not until 1953 that the L.M.R. restored any two-hour schedules, the W.R. following suit a year later.

   1960 February, R. C. Riley, “The London-Birmingham services - Past, Present and Future”, in Trains Illustrated, page 98

2. Unpaid debt.

   fall into arrears

   2 more examples

   I know the debt is in arrears / The dog has not been fed in years / It's even worse than it appears, but / It's alright

   1987, Grateful Dead, “Touch of Grey”, in In the Dark

   [Captain Andrew Russell, English Captions]: You have to clear the arrears this year. So, double tax.

   2001, Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India, Ashutosh Gowariker, et al.

3. That which is in the rear or behind.