1664–5 Act 16 & 17 Chas. II c. 11 §2 [They] shall..maintaine and keepe the Rivers of Gleane and Welland with sufficient Dyking, Roading, Scowering and Bancking.

1725 T. Badeslade Hist. Anc. & Present State Navigation King's-Lyn 22 The Presentments made of the Rivers and Drains neglected;..and not sheering and roding of the Streams.

1858 W. H. Wheeler Drainage Fens 17 The cost of this work in the fen district, where it is termed ‘roding’, is about 20s. a mile.

1906 H. R. Haggard Rural Eng. (new ed.) II. 14 Near this field I saw men clearing out the dykes by the piece. Here the clearing them of rush and sedge is called ‘roding’.

1969 E. Porter in G. Jenkins Stud. in Folk Life xi. 168 The roding of dykes was done in winter with a long-handled scythe which cut the reeds.

1888 A. Newton in Encycl. Brit. XXIV. 651/1 During this season the male Woodcock performs at twilight flights of a remarkable kind.., repeating evening after evening..precisely the same course... This characteristic flight is in some parts of England called ‘roading’.

1904 R. P. Chope in Eng. Dial. Dict. V. 133/2 The expression ‘roading-time’ is supposed to mean the time when they come up along regular paths or roads from the valleys to the feeding-grounds.

1927 E. Sandars Bird Bk. for Pocket 156 Cock's nuptial display (‘Roding’),..plumage fluffed out and uttering call.

1955 Times 10 May 12/5 These two sounds, so useful as an aid to seeing woodcock, are constantly uttered during its ‘roding’ flights, which start at sunset, are continued for perhaps an hour, and are resumed at dawn.

1973 Ibis 115 135 Many workers have described the roding behaviour of the Woodcock and speculated on its biological meaning.

1999 Seasons Spring 46/3 Roding is the woodcock's ritual, and watching the rode (from a respectful distance) is my ritual.

1896 R. Kipling Captains Courageous iii, in McClure's Mag. Dec. 168/1 Dan..twitched once or twice on the roding, and..the anchor drew up at once.

1915 F. W. Sullivan Harbor of Doubt xi. 109 Taking the two oars and the anchor, as well as the thwarts, he bound them together securely with the anchor roding.

1944 C. W. Ashley Ashley Bk. Knots 537 The roding or warp is led tightly round the crotch and is stopped to the ring with a single rope yarn.

1923 T. A. Coward Birds & their Young xii. 141 The roding Woodcock flies up and down a glade near the nest or where the nest will be, with slow, almost laboured wing beats.

1935 Murrelet 16 72 When watching the bird, in its hovering flight between the trees, the remembrance of seeing a roding Woodcock in England was revived.

1999 Wildlife News Jan. 8/3 The nearby open glade..provides a good opportunity for spotting ‘roding’ woodcock at dusk, as they repeatedly fly in large circles marking out their territory.