reeve
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
English [edit]
Pronunciation [edit]
Etymology 1 [edit]
Old English rēfa, an aphetism of ġerēfa.
Noun [edit]
reeve (plural reeves)
- (historical) Any of several local officials, with varying responsibilities.
-
- 1999, Bede, Judith McClure, Roger Collins editor, The Ecclesiastical History of the English People[1], Oxford University Press, ISBN 9780192838667, page 99:
- His first convert was the reeve of the city of Lincoln call Blæcca, ...
- 1999, Bede, Judith McClure, Roger Collins editor, The Ecclesiastical History of the English People[1], Oxford University Press, ISBN 9780192838667, page 99:
-
- (Canada) The president of a township or municipal district council.
- (military, historical) A proposed but unadopted commissioned rank of the Royal Air Force equivalent to wing commander.
- 1936, The Periodical (Oxford University Press), volumes 21–22, page 67
- A list of new titles was manufactured as follows: Ensign, Lieutenant, Flight-Leader, Squadron-Leader, Reeve, Banneret, Fourth-Ardian, Third-Ardian, Second-Ardian, Ardian, Air Marshal. […] “Reeve”, perhaps, savoured a little too much of legal authority.
- 1936, The Periodical (Oxford University Press), volumes 21–22, page 67
Etymology 2 [edit]
Verb [edit]
reeve (third-person singular simple present reeves, present participle reeving, simple past and past participle reeved)
- (nautical) To pass a rope through a hole or opening, especially so as to fasten it.
Etymology 3 [edit]
Noun [edit]
reeve (plural reeves)
- A female of the species Philomachus pugnax, a highly gregarious, medium-sized wading bird of Eurasia; the male is a ruff.
