ret

See also: rét, rêt, rết, and Ret.

English

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ɹɛt/
• Rhymes: -ɛt

Etymology 1

From Middle English retten, reten; perhaps from Middle Dutch rēten, reeten (compare Middle Low German rōten; Middle High German rōzen), or from Old Norse reyta (compare Norwegian røyta, Swedish röta); all from Proto-Germanic *rautijaną (“to make mellow or soft”), from Proto-Indo-European *rewd- (“to tear; rend; rip”). Related to rot.

Verb

ret (third-person singular simple present rets, present participle retting, simple past and past participle retted)

1. (transitive) To prepare (flax, hemp etc.) for further processing by soaking, which facilitates separation of fibers from the woody parts of the stem.
   • 1989, Keith Bosley, translating Elias Lönnrot, The Kalevala, XLVIII:

     the hemp was retted / and soon the retting was done / and swiftly it was hung up / and hurriedly it was dried […].

   • 2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage 2007, page 621:

     the lowland nearly silent except for water-thrushes, the harvested fields, the smell of hops being dried in kilns, flax pulled up and piled in sheaves, in local practice not to be retted till the spring

Derived terms

• retter

Translations

to soak linen, hemp etc.

• Finnish: liottaa (fi)

• Greek: μουσκεύω (el) (mouskévo)

Etymology 2

Abbreviation.

Adjective

ret

1. retired

Translations

retired

• Greek: ε.α. (el) (e.a.)

Anagrams

• ERT, ert, ter, ter-

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Catalan

Verb

ret

1. third-person singular present indicative form of retre
2. second-person singular imperative form of retre

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Czech

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *rъtъ. Compare Russian рот (rot, “mouth”).

Pronunciation

• audio

  (file)

Noun

ret m

1. lip

Derived terms

• rtěnka f

Further reading

• ret in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• ret in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989

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Danish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /rɛt/, [ˈʁɑd̥]
• Homophone: rat

Etymology 1

From Old Norse réttr, from Proto-Germanic *rehtaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵtós.

Adjective

ret

1. straight

   en ret linje

   a straight line

2. right, proper
3. rightful

   den rette arving

   the rightful heir

4. plain (in knitting)

Inflection

Inflection of ret
	Positive	Comparative	Superlative
Common singular	ret	—	—2
Neuter singular	ret	—	—2
Plural	rette	—	—2
Definite attributive1	rette	—	—
1) When an adjective is applied predicatively to something definite, the corresponding "indefinite" form is used. 2) The "indefinite" superlatives may not be used attributively.

Synonyms

• (rightful): retmæssig

Antonyms

• (rightful): uretmæssig
• (in knitting): vrang

Adverb

ret

1. straight
2. rightly, properly
3. rather, quite

   Han er ret høj.

   He is rather tall.

Etymology 2

Maybe from Middle Low German richte.

Noun

ret c (singular definite retten, plural indefinite retter)

1. (uncountable) right, justice, law
2. court, courtroom, lawcourt
3. dish, course (of food)
4. (uncountable) right side (e.g. of a fabric)

Declension

Declension of ret

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	ret	retten	retter	retterne
genitive	rets	rettens	retters	retternes

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Lojban

Rafsi

ret

1. rafsi of preti.

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Tok Pisin

Etymology

From English red.

Adjective

ret

1. red

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Westrobothnian

Etymology

Derived from riit.

Noun

ret

1. (hunting) A flag or stake that is used as a signal in the seal ice or as you put on the boat to find it again among the icebergs when departing from it to hunt.