reed English · revision 10226

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725|origins=gem-pro *hreudą}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɹiːd/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English rede, [[inh|ang|hrēod|t=reed, rush]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from West Germanic *hreuda,^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) source also of Old Saxon hriod, Middle Dutch ried (Dutch riet) and Old High German hriot (German [[m|de|Ried]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) Etymonline knows no cognates outside Germanic,^(Etymonline) while Barnhart and Merriam-Webster compare Lithuanian krutėti, to stir, move, from PIE *kreut-.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The tall stalk of a grass growing in wet places: about 725 in the OED, about 700 in Barnhart.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A bed of reeds is from before 800,^(OED 1989) reeds used for thatching from 1494,^(OED 1989) and wheat straw prepared for thatching from 1415–16.^(OED 1989) A musical pipe made from a reed is from the late 14th century,^(Etymonline) and the vibrating strip of cane in the mouthpiece of a wind instrument a later sense.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023) Figurative use, as of a weak or wavering person, is from about 1450.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The verb, to thatch with reed, is from late Middle English.^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – a reed stalk.^(OED 1989)

+ * before 800 – a bed of reeds.^(OED 1989)

+ * late 14th century – a musical pipe.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1450 – figurative use.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1494 – reeds for thatching.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Any of various tall [[grass]]es of wet places, with hollow jointed stems, or one of their stalks.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Reeds collectively, especially as used for [[thatch]]ing.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(music)'' A thin strip of cane or metal in the mouthpiece of certain wind instruments that vibrates to produce sound.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A woodwind instrument played with a reed.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[reedlike]]

+ * [[reedbird]]

+ * [[reedbuck]]

+ * [[reedling]]

+ * [[reedman]]

+ * [[reedy]]

+ * [[double-reed]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[rush]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Scots dialect, a reed was also a cattle-yard.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}