Arise

How to spell arise

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce arise

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does arise mean?

1. verbTo come into being or occur, or to get up from a lying or sitting position.

Arise in a sentence

• Problems often arise when the original plan is rushed.

• New questions arise every time the team reviews the budget.

Where does arise come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word comes straight from Old English arīsan, formed from the intensifying prefix a- attached to rīsan, which simply meant 'to rise' or 'to get up'. The root rīsan belongs to the same Germanic family that gives us the modern verbs rise and raise, and cousins of it survive across the Germanic languages with the sense of standing or moving upward. Over the centuries the literal meaning of physically getting up broadened into the figurative sense we lean on most today: that situations, problems, or opportunities 'come into being'. By the medieval period writers were already using it to describe troubles and disputes that 'arose', a usage that still feels natural now. Because the word is simply a- plus the familiar rise, the spelling is regular, though writers sometimes pause over whether it is one word or two.

How the word is built

• a- (Old English intensive prefix)
• rise (from Old English rīsan: to get up, ascend)