turbary

turb·a·ry
T1U1R1B3A1R1Y4
UK/ˈtɜːbəɹi/US/ˈtɜɹbəɹi/

noun

Peatland from which peat or turf may be cut for fuel; (countable) a piece of such land; a peat bog.

OriginMiddle English turbarie ← Anglo-Norman turbarie ← Old French torberie →
Scrabble 12
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Meanings

nounturbary (countable and uncountable, plural turbaries)

plural turbaries

  1. uncountablesciencePeatland from which peat or turf may be cut for fuel; (countable) a piece of such land; a peat bog.

    But remember this, it doesn't pay to set yourself against me, because I own both the infield and the turbary in the village, and without my leave, you'll get neither milk nor fuel.

    1970, Heðin Brú [pseudonym; Hans Jacob Jacobsen], chapter 10, in John F. West, transl., The Old Man and His Sons, London: Saqi, published 2013, →ISBN
  2. broadlycountableuncountablelawIn full common of turbary: the right to cut peat or turf from peatland on a common or another person's land.
    1 more example

    Common of piſcary is a liberty of fiſhing in another man's waters; as common of turbary is a liberty of digging turf upon another's ground. […] All theſe bear a reſemblance to common of paſture in many reſpects; thought in one point they go much farther: common of paſture being only a right of feeding on the herbage and veſture of the ſoil, which renews annually; but common of turbary, and the reſt, are a right of carrying away the very ſoil itſelf.

    1766, William Blackstone, “Of Incorporeal Hereditaments”, in Commentaries on the Laws of England, book II (Of the Rights of Things), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 34
  3. broadlycountableobsoleteuncountablescienceMaterial extracted from peatland; peat.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*derbʰ-“grass; tuft”
  2. Proto-Germanic*turbz“peat; turf”
  3. Proto-West Germanic*turb“peat; turf”
  4. Latin-āria
  5. Medieval Latinturbāria
  6. Old Frenchtorberie
  7. Anglo-Normanturbarie
  8. Middle Englishturbarie“place where peat is dug, peat bog; substance obtained from such a place, peat”
  9. Englishturbary

Inherited from Middle English turbarie (“place where peat is dug, peat bog; substance obtained from such a place, peat”), from Anglo-Norman turbarie, turberie, and Old French torberie, tourbarie, turbarie, from Medieval Latin turbāria, from turba (“turf”) (whence Old French tourbe) + Latin -āria (suffix forming abstract nouns). Turba is derived from Proto-West Germanic *turb (“peat; turf”); from Proto-Germanic *turbz (“peat; turf”), from Proto-Indo-European *derbʰ- (“grass; tuft”). Doublet of turf.

More words from Middle English, Anglo-Norman, Old French

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish turpeennostopaikka, turpeennosto-oikeus
  • turpeennostopaikkapeatland from which peat or turf may be cut for fuel; piece of such land
  • turpeennosto-oikeusright to cut peat or turf from peatland on a common or another person’s land
Spanish derecho de cortar turba en terreno ajeno
  • derecho de cortar turba en terreno ajenoright to cut peat or turf from peatland on a common or another person’s land
Cite this entry
APA

turbary. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/turbary

MLA

“turbary.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/turbary. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “turbary,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/turbary.

Source: turbary on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.