• n. 暗礁；[地質(zhì)] 礦脈；收帆
• vt. 收帆；縮帆
• vi. 縮帆；收帆

來自中古英語 rif,礁，來自 Proto-Germanic*ribja,肋骨，礁，來自 PIE*rebh,覆蓋，拱頂，詞源 同 rib.引申詞義帆，船帆。

reef

reef: English has two words reef, which both come from the same source, but have reached the language via different routes. That source was Old Norse rif ‘rib’, a close relative of English rib. Amongst its metaphorical senses were ‘horizontal section of sail’, which English acquired in the 14th century via Middle Dutch rif as riff, later reef, and ‘underwater ridge of rock’, which came into English in the 16th century via Middle Low German ref. The former was put to verbal use in the 17th century in the sense ‘furl sails’, which may underlie reefer ‘marijuana cigarette’ [20] – perhaps a ‘furled’ cigarette.
=> rib

reef (n.1)

"rock ridge underwater," 1580s, riffe, probably via Dutch riffe, from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse rif "ridge in the sea; reef in a sail," literally "rib" (see rib (n.)).

reef (n.2)

"horizontal section of sail," late 14c. (mid-14c. in rif-rope), from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse rif "reef of a sail," probably a transferred use of rif "ridge under the sea; rib" (see rib (n.) and compare reef (n.1)). German reff, Swedish ref, Norwegian riv, Danish reb likely all are from the Old Norse word.

reef (v.)

1660s, "take in, roll up" (as one would a section of a sail on a ship), from reef (n.2). Related: Reefed; reefing.

1. A coral reef is built by the accretion of tiny, identical organisms.

珊瑚礁是由許多相同的微生物不斷堆積而成。

來自柯林斯例句

2. the multifarious life forms in the coral reef

珊瑚礁上的多種生命形式

來自《權(quán)威詞典》

3. The ship and its crew were lost on the reef.

那條船及船員都觸礁遇難了.

來自《現(xiàn)代英漢綜合大詞典》

4. Waves mountain - high broke over the reef.

滔天巨浪蓋過礁石.

來自《簡明英漢詞典》

5. The ship was wrecked on a coral reef.

這條船在珊瑚暗礁上撞毀了.

來自《簡明英漢詞典》