1. 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.
Phrases and idioms:
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.
Etymology: OE hreod f. WG 2. n. the fourth stomach of a ruminant; the abomasum.
Etymology: OE reada