Etymograph

English

rear

Rear (back part) comes from Middle English rere, from Anglo-Norman rere, ultimately from Latin retrō ‘backwards’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEretrō1‘backwards’
  2. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400rere1
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rere1
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1590rear1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English rear
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book III, Canto VIII: “And hauing her from Trompart lightly reard, / Vpon…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEretrōWiktionary, English rear‘backwards’
  2. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400rereWiktionary, English rear
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rereWiktionary, English rear
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1590rearWiktionary, English rear. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book III, Canto VIII: “And hauing her from Trompart lightly reard, / Vpon…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with rear, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁rey- ‘to lift oneself, rise’

  • rise ← risen ← rīsan ← *rīsan ← *rīsaną
  • raise ← reysen ← reisa ← ᚱᛡᛁᛋᛁᛞᛟ ← *raisijaną

3 more relatives in the full family tree

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Another origin of rear

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEretro‘back, backwards, behind’
  2. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400rere
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rere
  4. Englishtodayrear

Another origin of rear

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱroHs-‘to mix, stir, cook’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hrōzijaną‘to stir’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hrōʀijanreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150hrēran‘to move, shake, agitate’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500reren‘to rile’
  6. Englishtodayrear

Another origin of rear

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱroHs-‘to mix, stir, cook’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hrōzijaną‘to stir’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hrōʀijanreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150hrēran‘to move, shake, agitate’
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150hrēr‘not thoroughly cooked, underdone, lightly boiled’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rere‘Referring to eggs: underdone, undercooked’
  7. Englishtodayrear

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Today it means

verb To bring up to maturity, as offspring; to educate; to instruct; to foster.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “rear”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin retrō / rear