# reed

Pronunciation: say "REED" /ɹiːd/

## Noun

1. Any of various tall, stiff, grass-like perennial plants that grow together in clumps near water.
   - Simple: A tall, stiff plant like grass that grows in groups near water.
   - _Red-winged blackbirds nest in the reeds along the lake shore._
   - _The wind hissed across the marsh, bending every reed toward the water._
2. In a wind instrument, the thin piece of wood or metal that vibrates to produce sound when air passes through it.
   - Simple: A thin piece of wood or metal in some instruments that shakes to make sound when you blow.
   - _A chipped reed made the clarinet squeak all through the concert._
   - _The harmonica's metal reeds vibrate as the player breathes in and out._
3. The hollow stem of one of the tall, grass-like plants that grow near water.
   - Simple: The hollow stem of a reed plant.
   - _Ancient scribes wrote with a reed cut to a fine point._
   - _Basket makers soak the reeds overnight so they bend without splitting._
4. Short for reed instrument: a wind instrument whose sound comes from a vibrating reed, such as the clarinet, oboe, saxophone, or bassoon. — Short for reed instrument.
   - Simple: Short for reed instrument: an instrument played with a reed, like the clarinet, saxophone, or oboe.
   - _The reed section carried the melody while the brass held long chords._
   - _Our sax player also doubles on other reeds, like clarinet and oboe._
5. Straw, such as long wheat stalks, that has been dressed and made ready for thatching roofs.
   - Simple: Straw made ready for covering a roof.
   - _The thatcher combed the wheat reed to strip out loose leaves before laying it._
   - _The farmer saved his longest straw to sell as reed to the thatcher._
6. A comb-like part of a loom's beater, used to beat the weft into place during weaving.
   - Simple: A part of a loom, shaped like a comb, that pushes each new thread tight.
   - _Each warp thread is drawn through its own slot in the reed._
   - _With every swing of the beater, the reed packs the weft firmly into the cloth._
7. Architectural reeding, a decoration of narrow, rounded moldings set side by side.
   - Simple: A decoration of thin, rounded raised lines set side by side on a building.
   - _The carpenter added reed molding to the door frame to match the original trim._
   - _Reed molding gives the cabinet doors a ribbed look that catches the light._

## Verb

8. To mill or mint a coin with reeding, the fine ridges along its edge.
   - Simple: To make small raised lines along the edge of a coin.
   - _Mints began to reed the edges of silver coins so that no one could shave off metal unnoticed._
   - _The dime is reeded, but the nickel has a smooth edge._

## Noun

9. A rod used for measuring length. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: A long stick used to measure things.
10. A Babylonian unit of length equal to six cubits, the length of a measuring reed. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: An old unit for measuring length in Babylon, equal to six cubits.
11. A weapon that is shot or thrown; a missile. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A weapon that is shot or thrown at an enemy.

## Other meanings

- (verb) To cover a roof with thatch.
- (noun) A strip of whalebone or similar material used to stiffen the skirt or waist of a woman's dress.
- (noun) A tube holding a train of powder, used to ignite the charge in blasting.
- (noun) The fourth stomach of a ruminant such as a cow or sheep; rennet.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–7, 9–11** — Old English hrēod, which comes from a Proto-West Germanic form *hreud, became Middle English red or reed. Where the Germanic word came from is uncertain. It has relatives in West Frisian reid, Dutch riet and German Ried ("reed"), but none in the North Germanic languages. The Babylonian measuring-reed sense translates Akkadian qanûm ("cane"), while the Bible's measuring reed renders the related Hebrew qaneh.
**Meaning 8** — From Middle English reden, formed from the noun reed.

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