ret
/ɹɛt/ verb
Forms rets retting retted ret. retd
- verb (transitive) To prepare (flax, hemp etc.) for further processing by soaking, which facilitates separation of fibers from the woody parts of the stem.
Etymology
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.
Abbreviation.
Webster’s 1913
- verb See Aret. [Obs.] Chaucer.
- verb To prepare for use, as flax, by separating the fibers from the woody part by process of soaking, macerating, and other treatment.
Etymology [Akin to rot.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “ret”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details