Simple past tense and past participle of ree. (verb)
Any of various types of tall stiff perennial grass-like plants growing together in groups near water. (noun)
Examples of word Reed
It is, to paraphrase yourself, absurd lore, but the reed is there.
The outer "reed" is not a sound-producing device, but a return spring.
And that's a thin reed of hope in an oil-covered swamp.
Shortly thereafter, having sung about the column, and the fire upon it that burns “unto the honor of God”, he stops again, receives the reed from the acolyte, and with one of the three candles, lights the Paschal candle.
And after his reed is sterilized (with alcohol, I presume) it will too.