English word origin

Etymology of reeve

From Middle English reve, from Old English rēfa, an aphetism of ġerēfa (also grœ̄fa), from Proto-West Germanic *garāfijō (“officer, official”). Compare Danish greve, Swedish greve, Dutch graaf, German Graf. The role, and

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 3 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

noun

Any of several local officials, with varying responsibilities. · The president of a township or municipal district council. · The holder of a proposed but unadopted commissioned rank of the Royal Air Force, equivalent to wing commander.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inherited-form mentionreveenm
Inherited-form mentionrēfaang
Inherited-form mention*garāfijōgmw-pro · officer, official
Cognate mentiongreveda
Cognate mentiongrevesv
Cognate mentiongraafnl
Cognate mentionGrafde

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "reve"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English reve"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "rēfa"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English rēfa"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*garāfijō",
        "t": "officer, official"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *garāfijō (“officer, official”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "greve"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish greve"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "greve"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish greve"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "graaf"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch graaf"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Graf"
      },
      "expansion": "German Graf"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "xno",
        "2": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Anglo-Norman"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "reve",
      "reve#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "rēfa",
      "refa#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "aphetism",
      "aphetism"
    ],
    [
      "ġerēfa",
      "gerefa#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "grœ̄fa",
      "grœfa#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*garāfijō",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/garāfijō"
    ],
    [
      "greve",
      "greve#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "greve",
      "greve#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "graaf",
      "graaf#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "Graf",
      "Graf#German"
    ],
    [
      "bailiff",
      "bailiff#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Any of several local officials, with varying responsibilities.",
        "The president of a township or municipal district council.",
        "The holder of a proposed but unadopted commissioned rank of the Royal Air Force, equivalent to wing commander."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "historical",
        "Canada"
      ],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 238970
    }
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  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

verb

To pass (a rope) through a hole or opening, especially so as to fasten it.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Apparent alternative form of reef (“to pull or yank strongly”, verb) or from Dutch reven (“to take in, insert”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Borrowed-form mentionrevennl · to take in, insert

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "nl",
        "3": "reven",
        "t": "to take in, insert"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch reven (“to take in, insert”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "reef",
      "reef#English"
    ],
    [
      "reven",
      "reven#Dutch"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To pass (a rope) through a hole or opening, especially so as to fasten it."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "dialectal"
      ],
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}

Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗

noun

A female of the species Philomachus pugnax, a highly gregarious, medium-sized wading bird of Eurasia; the male is a ruff.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Variant of dialectal ree, but of obscure ultimate origin.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [],
  "links": [
    [
      "ree",
      "ree#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A female of the species Philomachus pugnax, a highly gregarious, medium-sized wading bird of Eurasia; the male is a ruff."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "0d550e93f3ea400c2cabc73329a9b02b42b41f7c70803ca5c90cea3991fe78a7",
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}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for reeve →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-cmVldmU