An archaic or dialectal term for a reeve, a local official or supervisor in medieval England who collected taxes or administered justice.
Middle English variant of 'reeve,' from Old English 'gerefa' (meaning 'overseer' or 'official'), likely influenced by 'greet' or confusion with similar-sounding words.
A 'greeve' was basically a medieval administrator doing the unglamorous work of collecting taxes and keeping records—not exactly a popular person in the village, but absolutely necessary!
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