reed
pronunciation
How to pronounce reed in British English:
UK [riːd]
How to pronounce reed in American English:
US [riːd]
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- Noun:
- tall woody perennial grasses with hollow slender stems especially of the genera Arundo and Phragmites
- a vibrator consisting of a thin strip of stiff material that vibrates to produce a tone when air streams over it
- a musical instrument that sounds by means of a reed
Word Origin
- reed (n.)
- "tall, broad-leafed grass growing in wet places," Old English hreod "reed, rush," from Proto-Germanic *kreut- "reed" (cognates: Old Saxon hraid, Old Frisian hriad, Middle Dutch ried, Dutch riet, Old High German hriot, German Ried), with no known cognates beyond Germanic. Meaning "musical pipe made from a reed stem" is from late 14c. (reed-pipe is from c. 1300). As part of the mouthpiece of a musical instrument it is attested from 1520s. Meaning "a reed instrument" is from 1838.
Example
- 1. In kirgizia , people make them out of reed .
- 2. A reed warbler feeds a cuckoo chick which it has raised as its own .
- 3. Rural dweller : the reed bunting is one of the species which tend to avoid cities
- 4. There are services like the traditional reed playing at the tomb of the unknowns at arlington national cemetery , and for americans nationwide , it 's a chance to honor one of the country 's 21.5 million veterans , even if that 's simply by saying , thank you for your service .
- 5. Bushes of last year reed mace alongshore the straditsa river .