Sc. dial. Also yarff (see Eng. Dial. Dict.). [ON. jǫrfi (jǫrva-) gravel.] A peat-bog; peat combined with clay or sand.
1805. G. Barry, Orkney, I. i. 10. Yarpha, or bog soil, whose characteristic is a black colour connected with the power of retaining moisture. Ibid. In those places that are most elevated, the yarpha soil is most frequent.
1808. Jamieson, Yarpha, 1. Peat full of fibres and roots, Orkney.
1821. Scott, Pirate, xxxv. The poor yarpha, as the benighted creatures here call their peat-bogs.
