arrears 復習
More than 17,000 students living in university halls of residence fell behind with their rent payments in the last year, according to figures that suggest thousands more face financial hardship during their courses.
There has been a significant 16% rise in the numbers facing rental arrears in university accommodation, new statistics obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveal. A small but rising number of students are also being evicted from halls or having their tenancies cancelled after falling behind with payments.
According to data uncovered by the Liberal Democrats, 97 students were evicted from halls in the last year, more than double the 40 who had their tenancies cancelled the previous year. About 17,300 students living in university halls have fallen into rental arrears in the past year. (Skip the rest)
今回取り上げる語は、arrears /ɚɪ́rz/ です。
まず意味を確認します。LDOCEをみると “money that you owe someone because you have not made regular payments at the correct time” とあり、OEDをみると “Money that is owed and should have been paid earlier.” と定義されています。また、『ウィズダム英和辞典』(研究社)をみると「[複数扱い]滞納金、(未返済の)借金、(責務遂行の)遅れ」とありました。
次に語源を確認します。OEDをみると “Middle English (first used in the phrase in arrear): from arrear (adverb) ‘behind, overdue’, from Old French arere, from medieval Latin adretro, from ad- ‘towards’ + retro ‘backwards’.” とあります。
最後に用例を確認します。『ウィズダム英和辞典』(研究社)をみると “in arrears” “fall [get, go] into arrears” の２つが挙げられていました。 “in arrears” は「支払いが遅れて、[英](支払いが)後払いで」、“fall [get, go] into arrears” が「支払いが遅れる」と使うことができます。(OkaUchi)
