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Glite Dictionary
rettery

rettery

9.9
A place where people soak flax plants to separate the soft fibers for making cloth
  • noun
  • Archaic
: rettería
  • The old rettery by the river was once vital for the local textile industry.

Examples

  • After harvesting, the flax was transported to the rettery for processing.

  • Environmental regulations now control the waste from every rettery in the region.

  • The local rettery processes flax for textile production.

  • Many farmers use the rettery for their flax crops.

  • After harvesting, the flax was transported to the rettery for processing.

  • Environmental regulations now control the waste from every rettery in the region.

  • The old rettery by the river was once vital for the local textile industry.

Surface Forms

rettery singular
retteries plural

Morphology

rettery = retting (opaque) = rett + ery

The immediate base 'retting' is itself a specialized technical term, and the meaning of 'rettery' is not transparently accessible to most learners.

Etymology

The word rettery comes from the word ret, which means 'to rot' or 'to soak', plus the ending -ery, which means 'a place'. So a rettery is a place where flax is soaked and partly 'rotted' to free its fibres for making cloth.