From earlier riff, from Middle English rif, from Old Norse rif (“rib, reef”), from Proto-Germanic *ribją (“rib, reef”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rebʰ- (“arch, ceiling, cover”). Dutch rif (“reef”), Low German riff, reff (“reef”), German Riff (“reef, ledge”) are also borrowed from Old Norse. Doublet of rib.
Meanings
A chain or range of rocks, sand, or coral lying at or near the surface of the water.
(Australia, South-Africa) A large vein of auriferous quartz; hence, any body of rock yielding valuable ore.
el ξέρα (rocks at or near surface of the water) · sl grebén (rocks at or near surface of the water) · is rif (rocks at or near surface of the water) · uk риф (rocks at or near surface of the water) · gl pedrido (rocks at or near surface of the water) · pt arrecife (rocks at or near surface of the water) · hu ér (large vein of auriferous quartz) · cy rîff (rocks at or near surface of the water) · pt restinga (rocks at or near surface of the water) · de Riff (rocks at or near surface of the water) · sh гребен (rocks at or near surface of the water) · be рыф (rocks at or near surface of the water) · my ကျောက်တန်း (rocks at or near surface of the water) · cs útes (rocks at or near surface of the water) · el σκόπελος (rocks at or near surface of the water) · ja 礁 (rocks at or near surface of the water) · gl sirte (rocks at or near surface of the water) · rcf résif (rocks at or near surface of the water) · gl restinga (rocks at or near surface of the water) · ty aʻau (rocks at or near surface of the water) · gl camouco (rocks at or near surface of the water) · sv rev (rocks at or near surface of the water) · ms terumbu (rocks at or near surface of the water) · cmn 礁 (rocks at or near surface of the water) · ota قیا (rocks at or near surface of the water) · fr écueil (rocks at or near surface of the water) · et riff (rocks at or near surface of the water) · ga scairbh (rocks at or near surface of the water) · af rif (rocks at or near surface of the water) · bg златоносна жила (large vein of auriferous quartz) · cy creigres (rocks at or near surface of the water) · sh greben (rocks at or near surface of the water) · el ύφαλος (rocks at or near surface of the water) · mk гребен (rocks at or near surface of the water) · fi karikko (rocks at or near surface of the water) · fj cakau (rocks at or near surface of the water) · af rif (large vein of auriferous quartz) · fi riutta (rocks at or near surface of the water) · mi tau (rocks at or near surface of the water) · fr filon (large vein of auriferous quartz) · ale yas (rocks at or near surface of the water) · es arrecife (rocks at or near surface of the water) · it filone (large vein of auriferous quartz) · bg риф (rocks at or near surface of the water) · eo rifo (rocks at or near surface of the water) · cmn 暗礁 (rocks at or near surface of the water) · de Felsenriff (rocks at or near surface of the water) · ko 초 (rocks at or near surface of the water) · mi pūkawa (rocks at or near surface of the water) · hu zátony (rocks at or near surface of the water) · gl cón (rocks at or near surface of the water) · he שׁוּנִית (rocks at or near surface of the water) · mi ākau (rocks at or near surface of the water) · it scogliera (rocks at or near surface of the water) · ru риф (rocks at or near surface of the water) · mfe resif (rocks at or near surface of the water) · gl farallón (rocks at or near surface of the water) · vi đá ngầm (rocks at or near surface of the water) · ar شَعَاب (rocks at or near surface of the water) · pt filão (large vein of auriferous quartz) · grc σπιλάς (rocks at or near surface of the water) · it barriera (rocks at or near surface of the water) · vo klifakliped (rocks at or near surface of the water) · grc σπίλος (rocks at or near surface of the water) · vi ám tiêu (rocks at or near surface of the water) · sk útes (rocks at or near surface of the water) · tr resif (rocks at or near surface of the water) · gl vieiro (large vein of auriferous quartz) · th โขดหิน (rocks at or near surface of the water) · pl rafa (rocks at or near surface of the water) · fi särkkä (rocks at or near surface of the water) · ko 암초 (rocks at or near surface of the water) · vo kliped (rocks at or near surface of the water) · hy խութ (rocks at or near surface of the water) · hu aranyér (large vein of auriferous quartz) · nl rif (rocks at or near surface of the water) · el ξέρη (rocks at or near surface of the water) · ro recif (rocks at or near surface of the water) · pt recife (rocks at or near surface of the water) · es filón (large vein of auriferous quartz) · id terumbu (rocks at or near surface of the water) · km ថ្មប៉ប្រះទឹក (rocks at or near surface of the water) · fa آبسنگ (rocks at or near surface of the water) · ka რიფი (rocks at or near surface of the water) · gl vea (large vein of auriferous quartz) · fr récif (rocks at or near surface of the water) · cs zlatá žíla (large vein of auriferous quartz) · ca escull (rocks at or near surface of the water) · gl recife (rocks at or near surface of the water) · kk кедертас (rocks at or near surface of the water) · gl filón (large vein of auriferous quartz) · ga scoth (rocks at or near surface of the water) · ja 暗礁 (rocks at or near surface of the water) · gl bortoa (rocks at or near surface of the water) · gl brica (rocks at or near surface of the water) · grc ἕρμα (rocks at or near surface of the water)
From Middle English reef, from Old Norse rif, Middle Dutch rif, rēve, and/or Middle Low German ref. Possibly a figurative use of the word for “rib” in etymology 1 above, in which case all forms must, again, be borrowings from Old Norse. Alternatively it may be a different word related to Old English rift (“curtain, veil”), ārāfian (“to uncoil, wind off”).
Meanings
A portion of a sail rolled and tied down to lessen the area exposed in a high wind.
They sailed as if they were stark mad; they never took in a reef in the sail, and when the seas filled the boat, they sailed her up on the back of a wave till she stood nearly on end, the water rushing out over her stern as out of a spout. 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 49:
gd riof (arrangement to reduce the area of a sail) · af rif (arrangement to reduce the area of a sail) · ru риф (arrangement to reduce the area of a sail) · ja 縮帆 (arrangement to reduce the area of a sail) · ca ris (arrangement to reduce the area of a sail) · bg риф (arrangement to reduce the area of a sail) · nrf ris d'vaile (arrangement to reduce the area of a sail) · mi rīwhi (arrangement to reduce the area of a sail) · nl rif (arrangement to reduce the area of a sail) · gl rizo (arrangement to reduce the area of a sail) · it terzarolo (arrangement to reduce the area of a sail) · nrf ris (arrangement to reduce the area of a sail) · nrf barre (arrangement to reduce the area of a sail) · fr ris (arrangement to reduce the area of a sail) · fi reivi (arrangement to reduce the area of a sail)
From Middle English reef, from Old Norse rif, Middle Dutch rif, rēve, and/or Middle Low German ref. Possibly a figurative use of the word for “rib” in etymology 1 above, in which case all forms must, again, be borrowings from Old Norse. Alternatively it may be a different word related to Old English rift (“curtain, veil”), ārāfian (“to uncoil, wind off”).
Meanings
To take in part of a sail in order to adapt the size of the sail to the force of the wind.
"When the day arrived that the boy was to be skipper, the weather was calm and fine, but he called all men to reef sails, so the ship had scarcely any sail on her." 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 188:
1970 July–December, Margaret Quilty, Roller Reefing Made Easy, Boating, page 63,
Be sure the blocks are securely mounted—they carry a fairish load when the sail is reefed.
If both reefing line and main halyard are led to the cockpit, even singlehanded reefing is a breeze.
Mains are made smaller by reefing. This can be done by rolling up the sail around the boom, or by the more traditional method of tying down a panel along the foot. 1995, David Seidman, The Complete Sailor: Learning the Art of Sailing, page 104:
The reefing system for a mainsail must be designed to operate efficiently under adverse conditions and to provide proper sail shape when reefed. 2004, Charlie Wing, How Boat Things Work, page 108:
(Australia) To pull or yank strongly, especially in relation to horse riding.
[…]head stockman would say ‘Cut one out but take him at a walk.′ And if you could get that beast out without reefing your horse around, the head stockman – he′d be a pretty cluey old coot - he′s watching that horse′s ears more than what you were doing. 2007, Marion Houldsworth, Maybe It′ll Rain Tomorrow, published 2012, page 104:
And when the Cup came on he stirred them up ′round the barrier and he flew out of the barrier and he pulled and reefed and pulled and reefed and Lewis didn′t let him settle down until about three furlongs from home and when he did settle the horse was all out of stride and he went back through the field a fair bit. 1986, Jan Wositzky, Me and Phar Lap: The Remarkable Life of Tommy Woodcock, published 2011, page 49:
Alf told me that one young white stockman, eager to impress the girls, went outside and mounted his horse, then began showing off his prowess, racing past the pub, wheeling and reefing his horse up and down the street, yackeyeing and whooping, flogging his horse with a battered old hat and always turning towards the pub to see if the girls were watching these feats of horsemanship. 1994, Herb Wharton, Cattle Camp: Murrie Drovers and Their Stories, published 2010, page 73:
He reefed on the handbrake and sat smoking his cigarette, gazing out through the windscreen at the driveway. 2002, Alex Miller, Journey to the Stone Country, Allen & Unwin, published 2003, page 76:
(of paddles) To move the floats of a paddle wheel toward its center so that they will not dip so deeply.
Reef the paddles.
(slang) To manipulate the lining of a person's pocket in order to steal the contents unnoticed.
This was done by "reefing." He put two fingers just inside the opening and lifted the lining a trifle. Although I watched his hands, I could feel nothing, so gently did his fingers work. Reefing a couple of times, he lifted my handkerchief, as he might have taken out anything else. Myron M. Stearns, So You Lost Your Pocketbook?, in 1940, The Rotarian (volume 56, number 2, page 39)
From Middle English ref, hreof, from Old English hrēof (“rough, scabby, leprous", also "a leper”), from Proto-Germanic *hreubaz (“rough, scabby, scrubby”), from Proto-Indo-European *kreup- (“scab, crust”), related to Old English hrēofla (“leprosy, leper”). Cognate with Scots reif (“a skin disease leaving crusts on the skin, the scab”), Old High German riob (“leprous, scabby, mangy”), Icelandic hrjúfur (“scabby, rough”). Compare riffe, dandruff.
From Middle English ref, hreof, from Old English hrēof (“rough, scabby, leprous", also "a leper”), from Proto-Germanic *hreubaz (“rough, scabby, scrubby”), from Proto-Indo-European *kreup- (“scab, crust”), related to Old English hrēofla (“leprosy, leper”). Cognate with Scots reif (“a skin disease leaving crusts on the skin, the scab”), Old High German riob (“leprous, scabby, mangy”), Icelandic hrjúfur (“scabby, rough”). Compare riffe, dandruff.
Meanings
(qualifier:Now chiefly dialectal) The itch; any eruptive skin disorder.