Reef

See also: reef

English

Etymology

Borrowed from North German Reef, possibly related to Reep (“rope”), or otherwise from obsolete rif (“body”) (from Proto-West Germanic *hrif).

Proper noun

Reef (plural Reefs)

1. A surname from German.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Reef is the 38214^th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 580 individuals. Reef is most common among White (91.03%) individuals.

Further reading

• Hanks, Patrick, editor (2003), “Reef”, in Dictionary of American Family Names, volume 3, New York City: Oxford University Press, →ISBN.

Luxembourgish

Etymology

From Middle High German and Old High German reif, from Proto-West Germanic *raip, from Proto-Germanic *raipaz. Cognate with German Reif, Dutch reep, English rope, Icelandic reipi.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʀeːf/
  • Rhymes: -eːf

Noun

Reef m (plural Reefer)

1. hoop (metal band on a barrel)
2. (gymnastics) hoop