reef

pronunciation

How to pronounce reef in British English: UK [ri:f] word uk audio image

How to pronounce reef in American English: US [rif] word us audio image

Noun:

a submerged ridge of rock or coral near the surface of the water
Verb:

lower and bring partially inboard
roll up (a portion of a sail) in order to reduce its area
reduce (a sail) by taking in a reef

Word Origin

reef: reef: English has two words reef, which both come from the same source, but have reached the language via different routes. That source was Old Norse rif ‘rib’, a close relative of English rib. Amongst its metaphorical senses were ‘horizontal section of sail’, which English acquired in the 14th century via Middle Dutch rif as riff, later reef, and ‘underwater ridge of rock’, which came into English in the 16th century via Middle Low German ref. The former was put to verbal use in the 17th century in the sense ‘furl sails’, which may underlie reefer ‘marijuana cigarette’ [20] – perhaps a ‘furled’ cigarette.=> rib

reef (n.1): "rock ridge underwater," 1580s, riffe, probably via Dutch riffe, from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse rif "ridge in the sea; reef in a sail," literally "rib" (see rib (n.)).

reef (n.2): "horizontal section of sail," late 14c. (mid-14c. in rif-rope), from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse rif "reef of a sail," probably a transferred use of rif "ridge under the sea; rib" (see rib (n.) and compare reef (n.1)). German reff, Swedish ref, Norwegian riv, Danish reb likely all are from the Old Norse word.

reef (v.): 1660s, "take in, roll up" (as one would a section of a sail on a ship), from reef (n.2). Related: Reefed; reefing.

3. The challenge scientists face is to keep the reef healthy despite rapid change .

4. The reef is a very popular destination for scuba divers and other tourists .

5. During a 2010 bleaching episode an international team studied three coral reef sites .