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 rot1
ret in American English1
(rɛt)
verb transitiveWord forms: ˈretted or ˈretting
to dampen or soak (flax, hemp, timber, etc.) in water in order to separate the fibersfrom the woody tissue
Word origin
ME retten, reten < MDu reten, reeten < IE *reud-: see rotten