different between reef vs reefing

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: r?f, IPA^(key): /?i?f/
• Rhymes: -i?f

Etymology 1

From earlier riff, from Middle English rif, from Old Norse rif (“rib, reef”), from Proto-Germanic *ribj? (“rib, reef”), from Proto-Indo-European *h?reb?- (“arch, ceiling, cover”). Dutch rif (“reef”), Low German riff, reff (“reef”), German Riff (“reef, ledge”) are also borrowed from Old Norse. Doublet of rib.

Alternative forms

• riff (obsolete)

Noun

reef (plural reefs)

1. A chain or range of rocks, sand, or coral lying at or near the surface of the water.
2. (Australia, South Africa) A large vein of auriferous quartz; hence, any body of rock yielding valuable ore.
3. (nautical) A portion of a sail rolled and tied down to lessen the area exposed in a high wind.
4. A reef knot.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

reef (third-person singular simple present reefs, present participle reefing, simple past and past participle reefed)

1. (nautical) To take in part of a sail in order to adapt the size of the sail to the force of the wind.
   • 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.

   • 1995, David Seidman, The Complete Sailor: Learning the Art of Sailing, page 104,

     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.

   • 2004, Charlie Wing, How Boat Things Work, page 108,

     The reefing system for a mainsail must be designed to operate efficiently under adverse conditions and to provide proper sail shape when reefed.

2. (Australia) To pull or yank strongly, especially in relation to horse riding.
   • 1986, Jan Wositzky, Me and Phar Lap: The Remarkable Life of Tommy Woodcock, 2011, page 49,

     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.

   • 1994, Herb Wharton, Cattle Camp: Murrie Drovers and Their Stories, 2010, page 73,

     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.

   • 2007, Marion Houldsworth, Maybe It?ll Rain Tomorrow, 2012, page 104,

     […] 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.

3. (nautical, of paddles) To move the floats of a paddle wheel toward its center so that they will not dip so deeply.

   Reef the paddles.

4. (slang) To manipulate the lining of a person's pocket in order to steal the contents unnoticed.
   • Myron M. Stearns, So You Lost Your Pocketbook?, in 1940, The Rotarian (volume 56, number 2, page 39)

     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.

Derived terms

• disreef

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English ref, hreof, from Old English hr?of (“rough, scabby, leprous", also "a leper”), from Proto-Germanic *hreubaz (“rough, scabby, scrubby”), from Proto-Indo-European *kreup- (“scab, crust”), related to Old English hr?ofla (“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.

Alternative forms

• reif, rief (Scotland)

Adjective

reef (comparative reefer or more reef, superlative reefest or most reef)

1. Scabby; scurvy.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:scabby

Noun

reef (plural reefs)

1. (now chiefly dialectal) The itch; any eruptive skin disorder.
2. (now chiefly dialectal) Dandruff.

Anagrams

• -free, Free, feer, fere, free

Dutch

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch r?ven, from Proto-West Germanic *r?fan.

Noun

reef f (plural reven, diminutive reefje n)

1. line drawn on the ground, furrow

Etymology 2

Noun

reef n (plural reven, diminutive reefje n)

1. Alternative form of reef (shallows; strip of sail)

English

Pronunciation

Noun

reefing (plural reefings)

1. The process of reefing (taking in a sail); an act of reefing; also used of clothing.
   • 1852, Charles Barter, The Dorp and the Veld: or, Six Months in Natal, page 248,

     I will not detain the reader with the contents of our sea-log, which is full of tackings and reefings, of setting and taking in of sails, and many other manoeuvres […] .

   • 1868 April, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Our Second Girl, Atlantic Monthly, Volume 21, page 53,

     As matters were, our three girls never could be in our kitchen at one time without reefings and manœuvrings of their apparel which much impeded any other labor, and caused some loss of temper; […] .

   • 2005, John S. Bohne, In the Shadow of the Moon, page 28,

     Many had the bald-headed sail rigging, so crews would not have to go aloft in the winds to do dangerous reefings.

2. (Australia, New Zealand) A reef (seam of quartz).
   • 1924, Newspaper Press Directory, page 387,

     Alluvial goldfields and quartz reefings are in its vicinity, and good indications of coal.

   • 1977, William Kelly, Life in Victoria: or, Victoria in 1853, and Victoria in 1858, page 218,

     […] instead of taking a “leap in the dark” — a mistake which impulsive young men sometimes make in other relations of life, as well as in quartz reefings.

Verb

reefing

1. present participle of reef

Anagrams

• feigner, freeing