- place-names such as The Reesk and Reisk in Aberdeenshire, and Reisk near Kirriemuir in Angus indicate an area of untilled moor or marshy ground covered with natural grasses. Derived from Gaelic riasg 'sedge-grass', the word is attested in a variety of Scottish sources, from medieval Latin charters to twentieth-century Aberdeenshire poetry. In 1765, the Records of the Town Council of Rothesay noted:
A Riask or piece of Whinny ground [i.e. ground covered in whins] near to the Houses of Townhead.