† reetn.

Etymology: Origin uncertain; perhaps < an unattested Middle Dutch antecedent of Dutch regional (West Flemish) reit aquatic plants collectively (19th cent. or earlier; compare Middle Dutch, Dutch reiten to clear (a watercourse) of aquatic plants), perhaps originally a variant of ruit rue (Middle Dutch rute < classical Latin rūta rue n.²), influenced in sense by Dutch regional (eastern) reit , variant of riet reed n.¹ Compare also early modern Dutch and Dutch regional (eastern) ruit weeds collectively, wild plants growing by the water (1512), showing either the same word or a variant of ruigte weeds collectively (now regional (central); Middle Dutch ruuchte uncultivated plants collectively < ruuch rough adj. + -te , suffix forming abstract nouns from adjectives: see -th suffix¹ 2). Connection with rete n. 2 seems less likely. Compare slightly later reek n.²In early use, this word is apparently semantically distinct from reek n.², with reit translating classical Latin alga seaweed, and reek translating classical Latin ulva sedge.