The Collaborative International Dictionary
Retting \Ret"ting\, n.
The act or process of preparing flax for use by soaking, maceration, and kindred processes; -- also called rotting. See Ret.
--Ure.A place where flax is retted; a rettery.
--Ure.
Wiktionary
n. 1 The act or process of preparing flax for use by soaking, maceration, and similar processes. 2 A place where flax is retted; a rettery.
WordNet
See ret
Wikipedia
Retting is a process employing the action of micro-organisms and moisture on plants to dissolve or rot away much of the cellular tissues and pectins surrounding bast-fibre bundles, and so facilitating separation of the fibre from the stem. It is used in the production of fibre from plant materials such as flax and hemp stalks and coir from coconut husks. See also Jute#Production.
Usage examples of "retting".
The duke had no doubt been awake since before dawn, calling in his London staff of solicitors, agents, and accountants, and settling into Retting House for the Season.
If something foul happens again with her after a peer like Kilcairn, the Retting name and reputation would never escape unscathed.
To deliberately attend a gathering of the ton, knowing that they all knew what the Retting side of the family thought of her, was too painful to contemplate.
She was too worried over whether he would renew his questions about Virgil Retting once they returned, and what she would tell him if he did.
Virgil Retting stood on the landing, leaning over the railing to sneer at her.
The place stank of retting vats and dyestuffs, and one could not pass through the castle without sneez-i ng from dust and fluff and getting covered with lint and fuz2 and down.
His hemp paper was even better than that produced for USDA Bulletin 404, he claimed, because the decorticator eliminated the retting process, leaving behind short fibers and a natural glue that held the paper together.