Retting - Definitions from Dictionary.com

3 results for: Retting

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

ret

–verb (used with object), ret·ted, ret·ting.

to soak in water or expose to moisture, as flax or hemp, to facilitate the removal of the fiber from the woody tissue by partial rotting.

[Origin: 1400–50; late ME reten, retten; c. D reten (cf. D roten, G rössen, Sw röta); akin to rot

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Retting

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

ret Audio Help   (rět) Pronunciation Key
v.   ret·ted, ret·ting, rets

v.   tr.
To moisten or soak (flax, for example) in order to soften and separate the fibers by partial rotting.

v.   intr.
To become so moistened or soaked.

[Middle English reten, probably from Middle Dutch reeten.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Retting

Ret"ting\, n. 1. The act or process of preparing flax for use by soaking, maceration, and kindred processes; -- also called rotting. See Ret. --Ure.

2. A place where flax is retted; a rettery. --Ure.

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