- a part of a sail that is rolled and tied down to reduce the area exposed to the wind.
—verb (used with object)
- to shorten (sail) by tying in one or more reefs.
"horizontal section of sail," late 14c., from O.N. rif "reef of a sail," probably a transferred use of rif "ridge, rib" (see rib). Cf. Ger. reff, Swed. ref, Norw. riv, Dan. reb, all from the O.N. word. Reefer as a nickname for "midshipman" (1818) is source of the meaning "coat of a nautical cut" (1878).
(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/reef)
"Melville's whaleboat, meanwhile, was proving so swift that he had difficulty maintaining his designated position astern of the captain's cutter. Melville tried reefing his sail, and still he kept gaining."
- Hampton Sides, In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette
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