n. & v.
n. 1 a any of various water or marsh plants with a firm stem, esp. of the genus Phragmites. b a tall straight stalk of this. 2 (collect.) reeds growing in a mass or used as material esp. for thatching. 3 Brit. wheat-straw prepared for thatching. 4 a pipe of reed or straw. 5 a the vibrating part of the mouthpiece of some wind instruments, e.g. the oboe and clarinet, made of reed or other material and producing the sound. b (esp. in pl.) a reed instrument. 6 a weaver's comblike implement for separating the threads of the warp and correctly positioning the weft. 7 (in pl.) a set of semicylindrical adjacent mouldings like reeds laid together.
v.tr. 1 thatch with reed. 2 make (straw) into reed. 3 fit (a musical instrument) with a reed. 4 decorate with a moulding of reeds. reed bunting a small brown bird, Emberiza schoeniclus, frequenting reed-beds. reed-mace a tall reedlike water-plant, Typha latifolia, with straplike leaves and a head of numerous tiny red-brown flowers. reed-organ a harmonium etc. with the sound produced by metal reeds. reed-pipe 1 a wind instrument with sound produced by a reed. 2 an organ-pipe with a reed. reed-stop a reeded organ-stop. reed-warbler any bird of the genus Acrocephalus, esp. A. scirpaceus, frequenting reed-beds.
[ OE hreod f. WG ]