English
reeve
see also: Reeve
Pronunciation Noun

reeve (plural reeves)

  1. (historical) Any of several local officials, with varying responsibilities.
  2. (Canada) The president of a township or municipal district council.
  3. (military, historical) The holder of a proposed but unadopted commissioned rank of the Royal Air Force, equivalent to wing commander.
    • 1936, The Periodical (Oxford University Press), volumes 21–22, page 67 ↗
      A list of new titles was manufactured as follows: Ensign, Lieutenant, Flight-Leader, Squadron-Leader, Reeve, Banneret, Fourth-Ardian, Third-Ardian, Second-Ardian, Ardian, Air Marshal. […] “Reeve”, perhaps, savoured a little too much of legal authority.
Synonyms Related terms Translations Verb

reeve (reeves, present participle reeving; past and past participle reeved)

  1. (nautical, dialect) To pass (a rope) through a hole or opening, especially so as to fasten it.
    • 1930, William Faulkner, As I Lay Dying, Library of America, 1985, p.98:
      "Let the rope go," he says. With his other hand he reaches down and reeves the two turns from the stanchion.
Noun

reeve (plural reeves)

  1. A female of the species Philomachus pugnax, a highly gregarious, medium-sized wading bird of Eurasia; the male is a ruff.
Reeve
Proper noun
  1. Surname for a bailiff.


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