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Webster 1913 Edition


Ret

Ret

(rĕt)
,
Verb.
T.
See
Aret
.
[Obs.]
Chaucer.

Ret

,
Verb.
T.
[Akin to
rot
.]
To prepare for use, as flax, by separating the fibers from the woody part by process of soaking, macerating, and other treatment.
Ure.

Definition 2024


ret

ret

See also: rét, rêt, rết, and Ret.

English

Verb

ret (third-person singular simple present rets, present participle retting, simple past and past participle retted)

  1. (transitive) To prepare (flax, hemp etc.) for further processing by soaking, which facilitates separation of fibers from the woody parts of the stem.
    • 1989, Keith Bosley, translating Elias Lönnrot, The Kalevala, XLVIII:
      the hemp was retted / and soon the retting was done / and swiftly it was hung up / and hurriedly it was dried […].
    • 2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage 2007, page 621:
      the lowland nearly silent except for water-thrushes, the harvested fields, the smell of hops being dried in kilns, flax pulled up and piled in sheaves, in local practice not to be retted till the spring
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

Abbreviation.

Adjective

ret

  1. retired
Translations

Anagrams


Catalan

Verb

ret

  1. third-person singular present indicative form of retre
  2. second-person singular imperative form of retre

Czech

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *rъtъ.

Pronunciation

Noun

ret m

  1. lip

Derived terms


Danish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /rɛt/, [ˈʁɑd̥]
  • Homophone: rat

Etymology 1

From Old Norse réttr, from Proto-Germanic *rehtaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵtós.

Adjective

ret

  1. straight
    en ret linje
    a straight line
  2. right, proper
  3. rightful
    den rette arving
    the rightful heir
  4. plain (in knitting)
Inflection
Inflection of ret
Positive Comparative Superlative
Common singular ret 2
Neuter singular ret 2
Plural rette 2
Definite attributive1 rette
1) When an adjective is applied predicatively to something definite, the corresponding "indefinite" form is used.
2) The "indefinite" superlatives may not be used attributively.
Synonyms
  • (rightful): retmæssig
Antonyms
  • (rightful): uretmæssig
  • (in knitting): vrang

Adverb

ret

  1. straight
  2. rightly, properly
  3. rather, quite
    Han er ret høj.
    He is rather tall.

Etymology 2

Maybe from Middle Low German richte.

Noun

ret c (singular definite retten, plural indefinite retter)

  1. (uncountable) right, justice, law
  2. court, courtroom, lawcourt
  3. dish, course (of food)
  4. (uncountable) right side (e.g. of a fabric)
Declension

Lojban

Rafsi

ret

  1. rafsi of preti.

Tok Pisin

Etymology

From English red.

Adjective

ret

  1. red