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The present indicative plural of the substantive verb to be; but etymologically a different word from be, or was. Am, art, are, and is, all come from the root as.

alance which remains due when some part has been paid; arrearage; -- commonly used in the plural, as, arrears of rent, wages, or taxes. Locke. For much I dread due payment by the Greeks Of yesterday's arrear. Cowper. I have a large arrear of letters to write. J. D. Forbes. In arrear or In arrears, behind; backward; beh…

tive mode, present tense, of the substantive verb Be; but formed after the analogy of the plural are, with the ending -t, as in thou shalt, wilt, orig. an ending of the second person sing. pret. Cf. Be. Now used only in solemn or poetical style.

Studied and persevering attention to a person; -- usually in the plural.

ing justice in the trial and determination of civil and criminal cases; -- usually in the plural. Brande. Wharton. Craig. Burrill.

mmand; as, the local authorities of the States; the military authorities. [Chiefly in the plural.]

he inhabits; one of the original inhabitants or aborigines; a native; -- commonly in the plural. This title was assumed by the ancient Greeks, particularly the Athenians.

slanting a little aft, to assist the shrouds in supporting the mast. [ Often used in the plural.]

, and many tribes whose names begin with Aba-, Ama-, Ba-, Ma-, Wa-, variants of the Bantu plural personal prefix Aba-, as in Ba-ntu, or Aba-ntu, itself a combination of this prefix with the syllable -ntu, a person. -- Ban"tu, a.

The laurel tree (Laurus nobilis). Hence, in the plural, an honorary garland or crown bestowed as a prize for victory or excellence, anciently made or consisting of branches of the laurel. The patriot's honors and the poet's bays. Trumbull.

The past participle of Be. In old authors it is also the pr. tense plural of Be. See 1st Bee. Assembled been a senate grave and stout. Fairfax.

; plural of Beef, the animal.

a claim to precedence; a superior, as in merit, social standing, etc.; -- usually in the plural. Their betters would hardly be found. Hooker. For the better, in the way of improvement; so as to produce improvement. "If I have altered him anywhere for the better." Dryden.

an estate which renders it better than mere repairing would do; -- generally used in the plural. [U. S.] Bouvier.

e intestines of an animal; an entrail, especially of man; a gut; -- generally used in the plural. He burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. Acts i. 18.

ta, used for the same purpose, take the same name. See Blister beetle, under Blister. The plural form in usually applied to the dried insects used in medicine.

r subterraneous place of large extent used for the burial of the dead; -- commonly in the plural.

A person of distinction or renown; -- usually in the plural; as, he is one of the celebrities of the place.

Any grass cultivated for its edible grain, or the grain itself; -- usually in the plural.

One of the jaws or the fleshy covering of a jaw; -- commonly in the plural, and used of animals, and colloquially of human beings. His chaps were all besmeared with crimson blood. Cowley. He unseamed him [Macdonald] from the nave to the chaps. Shak.