reeve

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun female ruff
  2. verb pass a rope through
  3. verb pass through a hole or opening

Etymology

From Middle English reve, from Old English rēfa, an aphetism of ġerēfa (also groefa), from Proto-West Germanic *garāfijō (“officer, official”). Compare Danish greve, Swedish greve, Dutch graaf, German Graf. The role, and eventually the word, was mostly replaced by bailiff, of Anglo-Norman origin.

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