Definitions
place (flax, hemp, or jute) in liquid so as to promote loosening of the fibers from the woody tissue
Word origin
From Middle English retten, reten; perhaps from Middle Dutch rēten, reeten (compare Middle Low German rōten; Middle High German rōzen), or from Old Norse reyta (compare Norwegian røyta, Swedish röta); all from Proto-Germanic *rautijaną (“to make mellow or soft”), from Proto-Indo-European *rewd- (“to tear; rend; rip”). Related to rot.
Used in a sentence
“the hemp was retted / and soon the retting was done / and swiftly it was hung up / and hurriedly it was dried […].”
“the lowland nearly silent except for water-thrushes, the harvested fields, the smell of hops being dried in kilns, flax pulled up and piled in sheaves, in local practice not to be retted till the spring”
Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0
Used as a crossword answer2 curated clues
01“Soak flax”3 letters
02“Steep to soften”3 letters
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