reeve

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

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

transitive verb rove or reeved, rove or roven, reeving

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.)

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

noun

Origin: ? >