I. ˈrēd noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English rede, reod, from Old English hrēod; akin to Middle Dutch ried, riet reed, Old Saxon hriod, Old High German hriot, riot reed, Lithuanian krutėti to stir, move, Tocharian A kru reed
1.
a. : any of various tall grasses with slender stems: as
(1) : ditch reed
(2) : giant reed 1
b. : a stem of such a grass
c. : a person or thing too weak to rely on : one easily swayed or overcome
2.
a. : a growth or mass of reeds : reeds for thatching or for plastering on
b. : reeds as a material
c. dialect England : straw prepared for thatching
d. : the strong fibrous core of rattan used in basket weaving
3. : arrow
4. : a musical instrument made of the hollow joint of a plant (as of reed or cane) with a mouthpiece and finger holes : pipe
heard the shepherd's reed — Sir Walter Scott
5. : an ancient Hebrew unit of length equal to 6 cubits or about 10.25 feet
the foundations … measured a full reed of six long cubits — Ezek 41:8 (Revised Standard Version)
6.
a. : a thin elastic tongue (as of cane, wood, metal, or plastic) fastened at one end to the mouthpiece of a musical instrument (as the clarinet or the organ reed pipe) or to a reed block or other fixture over an air opening (as in the reed organ or accordion) and set in vibration by the breath or other air current
b. : the immediate mechanism (as the beak of a clarinet) surrounding and comprising the reed proper
c. : a reed instrument
the reeds of an orchestra
d. : reed stop
7.
a.
(1) : a device on a loom that resembles a comb and is attached to the lay, set with a series of flat parallel wires called dents, and used to space the warp yarns evenly and to beat up the filling
(2) : the fineness of cloth as determined by the number of dents and therefore of threads per inch of the reed
b. : a comb of boxwood or other hard material for pressing down the weft of tapestry
8.
a. : reeding 1 a
b. : one of a series of corrugations on the edge of a coin
[s]reed.jpg[/s] [
reed 6a
]
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English reden, from rede reed
1.
a. : to cover with reed or thatch
b. : to prepare (as straw) for use in thatching
2. : to decorate with reeds or reeding
the foot posts are deeply reeded — Antiques
3. : to draw (yarns) through the reed of a loom
reed the warp
4. : to make corrugations on (the edge of a coin)
III.
variant of rede
IV.
variant of read