# ree

Pronunciation: US say "REE" /ɹi/; UK

## Adjective

1. Wild, fierce or outrageous in behavior, or overexcited to the point of frenzy, delirium or madness. *(dialectal)*
   - Simple: Wild and out of control, or so excited that you act crazy.
   - _By midnight the crowd at the fair was ree, shouting and shoving toward the stage._
   - _Don't mind him; he gets a bit ree whenever his team loses._
5. Muddled by alcohol; half-drunk or tipsy. *(dialectal)*
   - Simple: A little drunk, so that you cannot think clearly.
   - _By the end of the wedding toasts, half the guests were pleasantly ree._
   - _The skipper was too ree to steer, so his mate took the wheel._

## Noun

2. A condition of intense excitement or frenzy. *(dialectal)*
   - Simple: A time when someone is very excited or wild.
   - _The announcement threw the fans into a ree that lasted all night._
   - _Grandad worked himself into a ree over the price of diesel._
6. A state of befuddlement, or of drunkenness. *(dialectal)*
   - Simple: A state of being confused or drunk.
   - _After the harvest supper and too much ale, half the farmhands were in a ree._
   - _He slept off his ree in the hayloft and woke at noon._
7. A spell of stormy or unsettled weather, especially one that comes around at roughly the same time each year. *(dialectal, Scotland, Shetland)*
   - Simple: A time of stormy weather, especially one that comes at about the same time each year.
   - _The old crofters sowed late, knowing the May ree would flatten anything planted too soon._
   - _That week of gales was the worst ree the island had seen in years._

## Verb

3. To become wildly excited, or to fly into a rage. *(dialectal)*
   - Simple: To get very excited, or to get very angry very fast.
   - _My father would ree at the slightest delay on the roads._
   - _The whole crowd reed as the winning goal went in._
4. To drive someone into a state of excitement, or to fill them with enthusiasm. *(dialectal)*
   - Simple: To make someone very excited or full of energy for something.
   - _Talk of the new mill was enough to ree the whole town._
   - _The fiddlers reed the dancers until the barn floor shook._

## Noun

8. Alternative form of rei. *(obsolete)* — Alternative form of rei (“Portuguese real”).
   - Simple: Alternative form of rei, an old Portuguese unit of money. It is no longer used.
10. A stream or small river. *(obsolete, Essex)*
   - Simple: A small river or a stream.
   - _The old mill stood beside the ree, its wheel turned by the slow brown water._
   - _Children from the village used to fish for minnows in the ree._

## Verb

9. To pass something through a riddle or sieve, sifting it so that unwanted matter is separated out or thrown off. *(obsolete, UK)*
   - Simple: To shake something through a sieve to take out the bits you do not want.
   - _Before brewing, they would ree the crushed malt through a fine sieve until it ran clean._
   - _The miller's boy spent the morning reeing oats and throwing the chaff onto a heap._

## Origin

**Meanings 1–6** — From Middle English rei, reh or reoh, from Old English hrēoh (“rough, fierce, wild, angry, stormy”), from Proto-Germanic *hreuhaz (“bad, wild”), from Proto-Indo-European *krewh₂- (“raw meat, fresh blood”). It is cognate with Scots ree, Old Saxon hrē (“evil, bad, angry”) and Gothic inrauhtjan (“to become angry, rage against”), and related to Old English hrēaw (“raw, uncooked”); compare raw.
**Meaning 10** — Of obscure origin. Perhaps from a rebracketing in which Old English þære ēa came to be heard as “the ree”; alternatively, perhaps a variant of rith, like rye (found in the place name Rye).
**Meaning 7** — From Old Norse hríð (“storm”), which also gave Norwegian Nynorsk ri (“period with harsh weather”).

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/ree (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).