ted

ted  (td)

tr.v. ted·ded, ted·ding, teds Chiefly New England

To strew or spread (newly mown grass, for example) for drying.

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[Middle English tedden.]

Regional Note: In 15th-century England the verb ted meant to spread newly cut hay to facilitate its drying. In the mid-19th century an American inventor produced a machine to ted the hay automatically and called it a tedder. Since modern English is inclined to make verbs out of nouns meaning implements or machines, the noun tedder became a verb with the same meaning as the original word ted. Tedder, a New England verb, also turns up in those parts of the Midwest that received settlers from New England.

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ted ¹

Verb

[tedding, tedded] to shake out (hay), so as to dry it [Old Norse tethja]

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ted ²

Noun

Brit informal short for teddy boy

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

Ted - a tough youth of 1950's and 1960's wearing Edwardian style clothes Teddy boy Britain, Great Britain, U.K., UK, United Kingdom, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; `Great Britain' is often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom plug-ugly, tough guy - someone who bullies weaker people