redd 1  (rěd)  tr.v. redd·ed or redd, redd·ing, redds Chiefly Pennsylvania To clear: redd the dinner table. Phrasal Verb(s): redd upTo tidy: redded up the front room. [Middle English dialectal redden, to clear an area (influenced by Middle English redden, to rescue, free from), from Old Norse rydhja; see rid.] The terms redd and redd up came to the American Midlands from the many Scottish immigrants who settled there. Meaning "to clear an area or to make it tidy," redd is still used in Scotland and Northern Ireland; in the United States it is especially common in Pennsylvania as the phrasal verb redd up. The term, which goes back to Old Norse rydhja, can be traced from the 15th century to the present, particularly in dialects of Scotland and the North of England. |