Meaning

noun the back of a military formation or procession

noun the side of an object that is opposite its front

noun the part of something that is furthest from the normal viewer

originFrom 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…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0