Etymologically
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reef

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Both English words reef come from Old Norse rif (“rib”), but by different routes: one names a ridge of rock, the other a strip of sail.[1][2]

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɹiːf/[3]

reef1 ridge of rock

Etymology

The ridge of rock is early modern borrowed from Dutch riffe (modern rif) and Middle Low German rif,[4][2][5] from a Scandinavian source like Old Norse rif (“rib; ridge in the sea”),[6][2][4] related to rib.[6][1][7] The English form was riff at first.[5][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

A ridge of rock, sand or shingle at or near the surface of the water: 1579 in the OED,[4] 1584 in Barnhart.[2]

Semantic evolution

Figuratively a reef is a hidden hazard on which a plan may founder, from 1841.[4] Australian gold miners used it from 1852 for a vein of gold-bearing quartz,[4][9] and in South Africa the Reef is the gold-mining region of the Witwatersrand (1903).[4] It was extended to low coral islands and to raised areas of the sea bottom.[6]

Timeline

  • 1579 – a ridge of rock near the surface.[4]
  • 1841 – figurative, a hidden hazard.[4]
  • 1852 – a vein of gold-bearing quartz (Australia).[4]
  • 1903 – the Reef, the Witwatersrand.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A ridge of rock, sand or coral at or just below the surface of the sea.
  2. A vein of ore, especially gold-bearing quartz.

reef2 part of a sail

Etymology

The part of a sail is inherited from Middle English riff,[2][7][10] from a Scandinavian source like Old Norse rif (“reef of a sail”),[2][6][4] probably the same word as rif "rib, ridge" in a transferred use;[2][6] Hoad and SOED take it through Middle Dutch rif.[11][5] The OED instead derives the Scandinavian word from the base of rífa (“to tear”), as a strip of fabric.[4] The spelling reef dates from 1667.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the compound rifrope, a rope for tying down a reef: 1336–37, in a naval account;[2][4] riff alone before 1393, in Gower.[2]

Semantic evolution

The verb, to take in a reef, is from 1667–70.[2][10] To take in a reef, figuratively to proceed more cautiously, is from before 1547,[4] and a tuck in a garment or belt from 1840.[4] reefer, a close-fitting jacket, is from the 19th century.[11]

Timeline

  • 1336–37 – rifrope.[2]
  • before 1393 – riff, a reef of a sail.[2]
  • before 1547 – figurative, take in a reef.[4]
  • 1667 – the spelling reef; the verb.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A part of a sail that can be rolled or folded up to reduce its area in strong winds.

Verb

  1. To reduce the area of a sail by taking in a reef.

Word family

  • reefer
  • reef knot
  • reef point
  • rib

References

  1. ^ a b Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  8. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  10. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  11. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press