Reed

[AS.] A thick, coarse gra , with hollow, jointed stalks, growing in or near water. The common reed grows in Furope and North America. The bamboo is a useful reed. The papyrus is often called the Egyptian reed.—A slip of cane in the mouth-piece of a musical in¬ strument, and set in vibration by the breath. In the harmonium, melodeon, and accordeou the reed is a thin piece of metal which by vibration produces the tones of the instrument.