A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1990 (DOST Vol. VII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Ritting iron. [Ritt v. Cf. later Sc. dial. ritting knife an instrument for slitting the turf before peat-cutting, also ritting-spade.] The metal head of a tool used for cutting through turf before digging out a piece. —1683 Reid Sc. Gard'ner (1683) 28.
Lay a foot thick sand immediatly under the truff: then by the squair streatch lines, ritt with the ritting iron (which is an half round put into the end of a crooked stick) & raise the turff with the turff-spade
