Reed
WordNet
noun
(1) A musical instrument that sounds by means of a vibrating reed
(2) A vibrator consisting of a thin strip of stiff material that vibrates to produce a tone when air streams over it
"The clarinetist fitted a new reed onto his mouthpiece"
(3) United States physician who proved that yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes (1851-1902)
(4) United States journalist who reported on the October Revolution from Petrograd in 1917; founded the Communist Labor Party in America in 1919; is buried in the Kremlin in Moscow (1887-1920)
(5) Tall woody perennial grasses with hollow slender stems especially of the genera Arundo and Phragmites
WiktionaryText
Etymology
Middle English rede, Old English hrēod. Akin to German . No cognates in North Germanic languages, but a Gothic was derived. It is theorised that the word may have a relation to ritae in Noctes Atticae (Aulus Gellius).
Noun
reed (countable and uncountable; plural: reeds)
- Any of various types of tall stiff perennial grass-like plants growing together in groups near water.
- The hollow stem of these plants.
- Part of the mouthpiece of certain woodwind instruments, comprising of a thin piece of wood or metal which shakes very quickly to produce sound when a musician blows over it.
- A musical instrument such as the clarinet or oboe, which produces sound when a musician blows on the reed.
- (as a material)