reaping-hook
Definition
Noun: A "reaping-hook" is a handheld agricultural tool with a curved blade, used for cutting grain or tall grass by hand, especially during the harvest season. It is synonymous with "sickle."
Usage Examples
- (A curved blade tool for cutting grain.)
- (A traditional harvesting implement.)
- (A tool for cutting vegetation.)
Advanced Usage
"to wield a reaping-hook": to use the tool skillfully, often implying manual labor or traditional farming.
- The old man could wield a reaping-hook with remarkable speed and precision. (He used the tool effectively and quickly.)
"the season of the reaping-hook": a poetic or archaic reference to harvest time.
- The painting depicted the golden fields and the season of the reaping-hook. (The harvest period.)
Variants and Related Words
- Reap (verb): to cut and gather a crop.
- They will reap the barley next week. (Harvest the grain.)
- Reaper (noun): a person or machine that reaps crops.
- The mechanical reaper replaced the hand-held reaping-hook in modern farming. (A harvesting device.)
- Hook (noun): a curved or bent piece of metal used for catching or holding.
- The blade of a reaping-hook is shaped like a hook. (A curved tool part.)
Synonyms
- Sickle: a curved blade tool for cutting grain, identical in function to a reaping-hook.
- Billhook: a similar tool with a hooked blade, often used for pruning or cutting brush.
- Cradle scythe: a larger, two-handed tool for mowing grain, related but distinct in size.
Related Idioms
- "to put the reaping-hook to the harvest": a figurative expression meaning to begin or complete a task with decisive action.
- After months of planning, it was time to put the reaping-hook to the harvest and launch the project. (To take final, effective action.)
Cultural Notes
- The reaping-hook is historically significant in agrarian societies, often symbolizing labor, sustenance, and the cycle of life and death. It appears in literature and art as a tool of the grim reaper, representing mortality and the harvest of souls.