An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/reffen

by Friedrich Kluge

reffen, vb., ‘to hatchel hemp or flax,’ from MidHG. reffen (a variant of raffen), ‘to tug, pluck.’ The ModHG. sense is probably based on a LG. word. Comp. Du. repel, ‘breaking flax,’ repelen, ‘to break flax,’ E. ripple, ‘hatchel.’