different between rearmost vs rear

English

Etymology

rear +? -most

Adjective

rearmost

1. Furthest to the rear.

   The rearmost member of the strike team walked backward to guard them from a surprise attack from behind.

Anagrams

• Rosmerta, rotamers

English

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /???/, /?i?/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /???/
• Rhymes: -??(?)

Etymology 1

From Middle English reren (“to raise”), from Old English r?ran (“to raise, set upright, promote, exalt, begin, create, give rise to, excite, rouse, arouse, stir up”), from Proto-Germanic *raizijan?, *raisijan? (“to cause to rise, raise”), from Proto-Indo-European *h?rey- (“to lift oneself, rise”).

Cognate with Scots rere (“to construct, build, rear”), Icelandic reisa (“to raise”), Gothic ???????????????????????????? (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.

Alternative forms

• reer, rere, rare (all obsolete)

Verb

rear (third-person singular simple present rears, present participle rearing, simple past and past participle reared)

1. (transitive) To bring up to maturity, as offspring; to educate; to instruct; to foster.
   • 1694, Thomas Southerne, Isabella: Or The Fatal Marriage

     He wants a father to protect his youth, and rear him up to virtue.

2. (transitive, said of people towards animals) To breed and raise.

3. (intransitive) To rise up on the hind legs

4. (intransitive, usually with "up") To get angry.
5. (intransitive) To rise high above, tower above.
6. (transitive, literary) To raise physically or metaphorically; to lift up; to cause to rise, to elevate.

   Poverty reared its ugly head. (appeared, started, began to have an effect)

   The monster slowly reared its head.

   • 1835, Lord Lytton, Rienzi, the Last of the Roman Tribunes

     Mine [shall be] the first hand to rear her banner.

7. (transitive, rare) To construct by building; to set up

   to rear defenses or houses

   to rear one government on the ruins of another.

   • One reared a font of stone.

8. (transitive, rare) To raise spiritually; to lift up; to elevate morally.
   • 1700, Isaac Barrow, Of Industry...

     It reareth our hearts from vain thoughts.

9. (transitive, obsolete) To lift and take up.
10. (transitive, obsolete) To rouse; to strip up.
    • 1684, John Dryden, The Second Epode of Horace

      And seeks the tusky boar to rear.

Usage notes

• It is standard US English to raise children, and this usage has become common in all kinds of English since the 1700s. Until fairly recently, however, US teachers taught the traditional rule that one should raise crops and animals, but rear children, despite the fact that this contradicted general usage. It is therefore not surprising that some people still prefer to rear children and that this is considered correct but formal in US English. It is widespread in UK English and not considered formal.

• It is generally considered incorrect to rear crops or (adult) animals in US English, but this expression is common in UK English.

Synonyms

• (rise up on the hind legs): prance

Derived terms

• raring
• childrearing

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English reren, from Old English hr?ran (“to move, shake, agitate”), from Proto-Germanic *hr?zijan? (“to stir”), from Proto-Indo-European *?roHs- (“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”).

Alternative forms

• reer, rere (all obsolete)

Verb

rear (third-person singular simple present rears, present participle rearing, simple past and past participle reared)

1. (transitive) To move; stir.
2. (transitive, of geese) To carve.

   Rere that goose!

3. (regional, obsolete) To revive, bring to life, quicken. (only in the phrase, to rear to life)

   (Speculum Sacerdotale c. 15th century)

Usage notes

• In the sense "bring to life", the more common variant of to rear to life is to raise to life. “I pray you, Declan, servant of God, that in the name of Christ you would raise to life for me the seven hostages whom I held in bondage from the chieftains of Munster." (Life of Saint Declan of Ardmore By Saint Declan of Ardmore, Aeterna Press, 2015.)

Related terms

• reremouse
• uproar

References

• The Middle English Dictionary

Etymology 3

From Middle English rere, from Old English hr?r, hr?re (“not thoroughly cooked, underdone, lightly boiled”), from hr?ran (“to move, shake, agitate”), from Proto-Germanic *hr?zijan? (“to stir”), from Proto-Indo-European *?roHs- (“to mix, stir, cook”). Related to Old English hr?r (“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”).

Alternative forms

• reer, rere
• rare (US)

Adjective

rear (comparative rearer or more rear, superlative rearest or most rear)

1. (now chiefly dialectal) (of eggs) Underdone; nearly raw.
2. (chiefly US) (of meats) Rare.
   • 2017, Dr. Ardeshir Irani, Short Tales of the Old Wild West

     Fred ordered a rear steak along with a glass of beer as he took a seat at an empty table

Derived terms

• rear-boiled
• rear-roasted

Etymology 4

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

Adjective

rear (not comparable)

1. Being behind, or in the hindmost part; hindmost

Antonyms

• front

Translations

Adverb

rear (comparative more rear, superlative most rear)

1. (Britain, dialect) early; soon
   • 1714, John Gay, The Shepherd's Week

     Then why does Cuddy leave his cot so rear!

Noun

rear (plural rears)

1. The back or hindmost part; that which is behind, or last on order; - opposed to front.
2. (military) Specifically, the part of an army or fleet which comes last, or is stationed behind the rest.
3. (anatomy) The buttocks, a creature's bottom

Synonyms

• (buttocks): rear end

Translations

Verb

rear (third-person singular simple present rears, present participle rearing, simple past and past participle reared)

1. To place in the rear; to secure the rear of.
2. (transitive, vulgar, Britain) To sodomize (perform anal sex)

Derived terms

Anagrams

• arré, rare

Latin

Verb

rear

1. first-person singular present active subjunctive of reor

Swedish

Verb

rear

1. present tense of rea.

Anagrams

• rare