Tedder

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A device used in agriculture to spread or toss cut grass or hay into the air for drying and aeration
2. An implement designed to separate layers of cut forage in sunny conditions to enhance evaporation and reduce moisture retention
3. A tool utilized in farming to facilitate the drying process of harvested crops by loosening and agitating the material in open fields

Etymology: The tedder is a farm machine that spreads cut grass or hay across a field so the sun and air can dry it, and its name comes from a much older verb. "Ted" is an English word meaning to spread out hay to dry, and the tedder is the thing that does the tedding. The "-er" ending is the ordinary English suffix that turns a verb into a word for a person or device doing that action, which is why many tools, such as the "harrower" or the "mower", are named the same way. The verb "ted" itself came into English from Old Norse "tethja", meaning to spread manure or to scatter, a link that points to the Norse settlers of northern England, though the exact route is uncertain. The word passed into Middle English as "teddere" and was carried into modern English with its agricultural sense intact, so the name still describes the job the machine does: scattering the cut crop into the open air.

Synonyms: hay tedder, hay rake