scythe

[ sahyth ]

noun

1. an agricultural implement consisting of a long, curving blade fastened at an angle to a handle, for cutting grass, grain, etc., by hand.

verb (used with object)

, scythed, scyth·ing.

1. to cut or mow with a scythe.

scythe

/ saɪð /

noun

1. a manual implement for cutting grass, etc, having a long handle held with both hands and a curved sharpened blade that moves in a plane parallel to the ground

verb

1. tr to cut (grass, etc) with a scythe

Derived Forms

• ˈscytheˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• scytheless adjective
• scythelike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of scythe¹

before 900; Middle English sith, Old English sīthe, earlier sigdi; cognate with Old Norse sigthr; spelling sc by pseudoetymological association with Latin scindere to cut or with scissors

Word History and Origins

Origin of scythe¹

Old English sigthe; related to Old Norse sigthr, Old High German segansa

Example Sentences

He lived in a big suburban mansion in Weybridge and he was sharp as a scythe.

From The Daily Beast

Scott lay dead in his garage, stabbed repeatedly by his own scythe.

From The Daily Beast

Thickets were swept as with a great jagged scythe by the leaden hail which swept through them.

From Project Gutenberg

I have no objection to any of these being edited, say with a scythe, and reproduced.

From Project Gutenberg

Across the fields came the sharpening of a scythe, the cry of the grasshoppers, and the sound of a mill-wheel arose near by.

From Project Gutenberg

The French live very thoroughly, but when they die they die 316 thoroughly too, and their cemeteries confess the scythe.

From Project Gutenberg

There he found the unlucky Pyramus lying on the ground, with the point of the scythe right through his neck.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• carve
• divide
• rip
• slash
• slice