Etymograph

English

reed

Reed comes from Middle English red ‘reed, flax (plant)’, and goes back to Proto-West Germanic *hreud.

  1. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hreud1reconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150hrēod1‘a reed’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500red1‘reed, flax (plant)’
  4. Englishtodayreed1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English reed

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hreudWiktionary, English reedreconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150hrēodWiktionary, English reed‘a reed’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500redWiktionary, English reed‘reed, flax (plant)’
  4. EnglishtodayreedWiktionary, English reed

Linked words

through Middle English red ‘reed, flax (plant)’

red, reddish, rede

Another origin of reed

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hreh₁dʰ-‘to think, arrange’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hréh₁dʰetireconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*rēdaną‘to advise, counsel’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*rādan‘to advise, counsel, help’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150rǣdan‘to advise, read’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500reden‘to counsel, advise’
  7. Englishtodayreed

Another origin of reed

  1. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*raudō‘abomasum’reconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150rēada‘abomasum’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rede‘abomasum’
  4. Englishtodayreed

Today it means

noun Any of various types of tall stiff perennial grass-like plants growing together in groups near water.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “reed”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-West Germanic *hreud / reed

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