English

Proper noun

Reeve

1. A surname​.

See also

• Reeves

English

Noun

reeve ‎(plural reeves)

1. (historical) Any of several local officials, with varying responsibilities.
   • 1999, Bede, Judith McClure, Roger Collins, editor, The Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Oxford University Press, ISBN 9780192838667, page 99:

     His first convert was the reeve of the city of Lincoln call Blæcca, ...

2. (Canada) The president of a township or municipal district council.
3. (military, historical) 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

• (medieval official): provost

Related terms

• sheriff

See also

• bailiff

Translations

Etymology 2

Apparent alternative form of reef ‎(“to pull or yank strongly”, verb)

Verb

reeve ‎(third-person singular simple present reeves, present participle reeving, simple 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.

Etymology 3

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.