Reeved

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Passed a rope, chain, or line through an opening such as a hole or pulley to guide or secure it
2. Fed a cord or line carefully through a narrow space or device to allow movement or control
3. Ran a rope or similar material through a loop or mechanism to facilitate adjustment or lifting

Etymology: "Reeved" is the past tense of "reeve," a verb meaning to thread a rope through a block, ring or opening. The verb has a surprising relationship with a much older word for a royal official. In Old English, "gerēfa" was an official who ran a district on a lord's or king's behalf, and it was shortened to "rēfa," which in Middle English became "reve." The word for the office and the word for the rope-work are, on the evidence available, different things that happen to look identical, and etymologists have not settled how the nautical verb arose. The most plausible explanation is that "reeve" the verb comes from Dutch "reven," meaning to take in or insert, which is a near-match in sense, though it is not certain. Another suggestion links it to "reef," a verb meaning to pull or yank strongly, but the two are not clearly the same word. Nobody has traced the verb with confidence to a source of its own, so the rope-threading sense remains a loose end.