Reed

Reed, rēd, n. the common English name of certain tall grasses, growing in moist or marshy places, and having a very hard or almost woody culm: a musical pipe anciently made of a reed: the sounding part of several musical instruments, as the clarinet, bassoon, oboe, and bagpipe: the speaking part of the organ, though made of metal: the appliance in weaving for separating the threads of the warp, and for beating the weft up to the web: a tube containing the powder-train leading to the blast-hole: a piece of whalebone, &c., for stiffening the skirt or waist of a woman's dress: (poet.) a missile weapon: reeds or straw for thatch: a measuring reed.—v.t. to thatch.—ns. Reed′-band, a musical band including clarinets and other reed-instruments; Reed′-bird, the bobolink; Reed′-bunt′ing, the black-headed bunting of Europe.—adjs. Reed′ed, covered with reeds: formed with reed-like ridges or channels; Reed′en, consisting of a reed or reeds.—ns. Reed′er, a thatcher; Reed′-grass, any one of the grasses called reeds; Reed′iness, the state of being reedy; Reed′ing, the milling on the edge of a coin: (archit.) ornamental beaded mouldings, &c.; Reed′-in′strument, a musical instrument, the tone of which is produced by the vibration of a reed; Reed′-knife, a metal implement for adjusting the tuning wires in a pipe-organ; Reed′ling, the European bearded titmouse; Reed′-mace, any plant of the genus Typha, esp. either of two species, also called Cat's tail, the most common of which grows to a height of five or six feet, and is sometimes called Bulrush; Reed′-mō′tion, the mechanism which in power-looms moves the batten; Reed′-or′gan, a key-board musical instrument of which the harmonium and the American organ are the principal types; Reed′-pheas′ant, the bearded titmouse or reedling; Reed′-pipe, in organ-building, a pipe whose tone is produced by the vibration of a reed: Reed′-plane, a concave-soled plane used in making beads; Reed′-stop, a set of reed-pipes in organs, the use of which is controlled by a single stop-knob; Reed′-war′bler, a species of the warblers, frequenting marshy places, and building its nest on the reeds which grow there—also Reed′-thrush; Reed′-wren, the greater reed-warbler: an American wren.—adj. Reed′y, abounding with reeds: resembling or sounding as a reed—n. masses of rods of iron imperfectly welded together. [A.S. hreód; Dut. riet, Ger. ried.]