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reedy

[ree-dee]
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adjective, reed·i·er, reed·i·est.
  1. full of reeds: a reedy marsh.
  2. consisting or made of a reed or reeds: a reedy pipe.
  3. like a reed or reeds: reedy grass.
  4. reed instrument.
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Origin of reedy

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at reed, -y1
Related formsreed·i·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for reedy

Historical Examples

  • The male voice was peculiar; it was, as I told you, reedy and nasal.

    The Room in the Dragon Volant

    J. Sheridan LeFanu

  • It was a reedy woman in a housecoat, her hair in curlers, her eyes red and swollen.

    Dream Town

    Henry Slesar

  • But she still bore that heathen name, which she had received in the reedy thicket.

    Debts of Honor

    Maurus Jkai

  • It was an hour before they found a little mud-pool in a reedy hollow.

  • "I've heard it all before," Rat said, with a note of boredom in his reedy voice.

    Starman's Quest

    Robert Silverberg

British Dictionary definitions for reedy

reedy

adjective reedier or reediest
  1. (of a place, esp a marsh) abounding in reeds
  2. of or like a reed
  3. having a tone like a reed instrument; shrill or pipinga reedy voice
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Derived Formsreedily, adverbreediness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for reedy

adj.

late 14c., "full of reeds," from reed + -y (2), or from Old English hreodig. Of tones, from 1811 in reference to musical reeds. Related: Reediness.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper