ret
[ret]
- to soak in water or expose to moisture, as flax or hemp, to facilitate the removal of the fiber from the woody tissue by partial rotting.
Origin of ret
1400–50; late Middle English reten, retten; cognate with Dutch reten (compare Dutch roten, German rössen, Swedish röta); akin to rot
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for retting
Historical Examples
The difference in color is due chiefly to the process of “retting.”
TextilesWilliam H. Dooley
The fiber is separated from the plant by retting, beating, etc.
Textiles and ClothingKate Heintz Watson
When the retting is complete, the flax is set up in sheaves to dry.
Textiles and ClothingKate Heintz Watson
This loss is greater the finer the stems, and the longer the retting.
Then the flax is bound in bundles for the next process, which is retting.
Clothing and HealthHelen Kinne
ret
- (tr) to moisten or soak (flax, hemp, jute, etc) to promote bacterial action in order to facilitate separation of the fibres from the woody tissue by beating
Word Origin
C15: of Germanic origin; related to Middle Dutch reeten, Swedish röta, German rösten; see rot 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for retting
ret
v.
"to soak stems of fibrous plants (flax, hemp, jute, etc.) to soften them," mid-15c., probably from Middle Dutch roten (or an unrecorded cognate Old Norse word that is related to Norwegian røyta, Swedish röta, Danish røde); considered to be related to Old English rotian "to rot" (see rot (v.)), but the vowel is difficult.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper