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reeve1 definition

reeve (rēv)

noun

  1. in English history,
    1. the chief officer, under the king, of a town or district
    2. the overseer and chief peasant of a manor
  2. the elected head of a village or town council in certain Canadian provinces

Etymology: ME reve, earlier irefe < OE gerefa < ge- + base of *rof, row, number

reeve2 definition

reeve (rēv)

transitive verb rove or reeved, rove or roven rov′en, reeving reev′·ing

  1. to pass (the end of a line) through a block, ring, etc.
  2. to fasten by passing through or around something
  3. to pass a line through (a block, ring, etc.)

Etymology: prob. < Du reven, to reef, in sense “use a rope in or as in reefing”

reeve3 definition

reeve (rēv)

noun

a female ruff (sense )

Etymology: ? >

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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