redd 1

(rĕd)

tr.v. redd·ed also redd, redd·ing, redds Chiefly Pennsylvania To clear: redd the dinner table. also

redd up To tidy: redded up the front room.

[Middle English dialectal redden , variant (probably influenced by Middle English redden , to free (from an encumbrance), rescue) of Middle English riddan , to clear (an area, a way), clear out; see rid.]

Our Living Language The terms redd and redd up came to the American Midlands from the many Scottish immigrants who settled there. In the meaning "to clear an area or to make it tidy," redd is still used in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In the United States, the word is especially common in Pennsylvania as part of the phrasal verb redd up.

redd 2

(rĕd)

n. A spawning nest made by a fish, especially a salmon or trout.

[Origin unknown.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.