| to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable. |
| to spend time idly; loaf. |
before 900; Middle English; Old English hrēod; cognate with German, Dutch riet
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[fawr-muh
n] , 1884–1980, U.S. jurist: associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court 1938–57. Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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reed (riːd) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | any of various widely distributed tall grasses of the genus Phragmites, esp P. communis, that grow in swamps and shallow water and have jointed hollow stalks |
| 2. | the stalk, or stalks collectively, of any of these plants, esp as used for thatching |
| 3. | music |
| a. a thin piece of cane or metal inserted into the tubes of certain wind instruments, which sets in vibration the air column inside the tube | |
| b. a wind instrument or organ pipe that sounds by means of a reed | |
| 4. | one of the several vertical parallel wires on a loom that may be moved upwards to separate the warp threads |
| 5. | See also reeding a small semicircular architectural moulding |
| 6. | an ancient Hebrew unit of length equal to six cubits |
| 7. | an archaic word for arrow |
| 8. | broken reed a weak, unreliable, or ineffectual person |
| —vb | |
| 9. | to fashion into or supply with reeds or reeding |
| 10. | to thatch using reeds |
| [Old English hreod; related to Old Saxon hriod, Old High German hriot] | |
| Reed (riːd) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | Sir Carol. 1906--76, English film director. His films include The Third Man (1949), An Outcast of the Islands (1951), and Oliver! (1968), for which he won an Oscar |
| 2. | Lou. born 1942, US rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist: member of the Velvet Underground (1965--70). His albums include Transformer (1972), Berlin (1973), Street Hassle (1978), New York (1989), Set the Twilight Reeling (1996), and The Raven (2003) |
| 3. | Walter. 1851--1902, US physician, who proved that yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes (1900) |
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reed
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Reed (rēd), Walter. 1851-1902.
American surgeon who led the commission that proved experimentally that yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes.
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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| Reed (rēd) Pronunciation Key
American physician and army surgeon who proved in 1900 that yellow fever was transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. His research led to the mosquito eradication programs carried out by William Gorgas that virtually eradicated yellow fever from Havana, Cuba, and from the panama canal Zone. |
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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reed definition
A thin piece of wood or plastic used in many woodwind instruments. It vibrates when the player holds it in the mouth and blows over it (as with a single reed) or through it (as with a double reed). Clarinets and saxophones use a single reed; bassoons and oboes use a double reed.
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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| REE rare earth element |
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Reed definition
(1.) "Paper reeds" (Isa. 19:7; R.V., "reeds"). Heb. 'aroth, properly green herbage growing in marshy places. (2.) Heb. kaneh (1 Kings 14:15; Job 40:21; Isa. 19:6), whence the Gr. kanna, a "cane," a generic name for a reed of any kind. The reed of Egypt and Palestine is the Arundo donax, which grows to the height of 12 feet, its stalk jointed like the bamboo, "with a magnificent panicle of blossom at the top, and so slender and yielding that it will lie perfectly flat under a gust of wind, and immediately resume its upright position." It is used to illustrate weakness (2 Kings 18:21; Ezek. 29:6), also fickleness or instability (Matt. 11:7; comp. Eph. 4:14). A "bruised reed" (Isa. 42:3; Matt. 12:20) is an emblem of a believer weak in grace. A reed was put into our Lord's hands in derision (Matt. 27:29); and "they took the reed and smote him on the head" (30). The "reed" on which they put the sponge filled with vinegar (Matt. 27:48) was, according to John (19:29), a hyssop stalk, which must have been of some length, or perhaps a bunch of hyssop twigs fastened to a rod with the sponge. (See CANE.)
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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