abrest

English

Adverb

abrest (comparative more abrest, superlative most abrest)

1. (archaic or nonstandard) Alternative spelling of abreast

   • 1885, John McElroy, The Red Acorn^[1], HTML edition, The Gutenberg Project, published 2010:

     Eleven hundred superb young fellows, marching four abrest, with bayonets fixed …

   • 1994 February 28, “Networking Careers On-line”, in Network World^[2], volume 11, number 9, IDG, ISSN 0887-7661, page 56:

     … was designed to provide you with the information you need to keep abrest of current opportunities …

   • 1998, Bernard DeVoto, quoting Boit, 1792, The Course of Empire^[3], Reprint edition, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, ISBN 9780395924983:

     This day saw an appearance of a spacious harbour abrest the Ship, haul'd our wind …

   • 2006, Helen Lee, Where in the World?: Stories from Everywhere^[4], Review and Herald Pub Assoc, ISBN 9780828018746, page 316:

     He read the words scribbled under the star: "Stand abrest qurtsbolder bring in line with hill … "

   • 2007, Nirali Prakashan, Corporate Planning and Strategic Human Resources Management^[5], First edition, ISBN 9789380064147, page 3.8:

     Keeping abrest of technological developments requires a careful assessment …

References

• Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia, abrest

Anagrams

• Baster, Be star, Tarbes, barest, baster, bestar, breast, tabers

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Middle English

Etymology

From "on brest" or a- +‎ brest

Adverb

abrest

1. side by side

   Owt they Comen Al On Abrest. — The History of the Holy Grail, Henry Lovelich, 1450

References

• Middle English Dictionary