ret

[ ret ]

/ rɛt /

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verb (used with object), ret·ted, ret·ting.

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.

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Origin of ret

1400–50; late Middle English reten, retten; cognate with Dutch reten (compare Dutch roten,German rössen,Swedish röta); akin to rot

OTHER WORDS FROM ret

un·ret·ted, adjective

Other definitions for ret (2 of 2)

ret.

abbreviation

retain.

retired.

return.

returned.

How to use ret in a sentence

Retting, ret′ing, n. the act or process of preparing flax for use by rotting the useless part of the plant.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R)|Various
Retting in stagnant water is the method usually employed in Ireland and Russia.
Textiles and Clothing|Kate Heintz Watson
Warm water retting and chemical retting have met with limited success.
Textiles and Clothing|Kate Heintz Watson
Most of this richness is in the seed and the part of the stalk that is removed in the retting.
Birds and all Nature Vol VII, No. 3, March 1900|Various

After retting, the flax is spread to dry in the fields and is then ready for the next process, called breaking.
Clothing and Health|Helen Kinne

British Dictionary definitions for ret

ret

/ (rɛt) /

verb rets, retting or retted

(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 for ret

C15: of Germanic origin; related to Middle Dutch reeten, Swedish röta, German rösten; see rot 1

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