scythe

American  

[sahyth] / saɪð /

noun

scythes plural

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

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verb (used with object)

scythes, present (3rd person singular) scythed, past participle, past scything present participle

1. to cut or mow with a scythe.

scythe British  

/ 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

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verb

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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• scytheless
  adjective
• scythelike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• scythes
  plural

Participles

• scything
  present
• scythed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• scythe
  simple
• scythes
  simple
• have scythed
  perfect
• has scythed
  perfect
• am scything
  progressive
• are scything
  progressive
• is scything
  progressive
• have been scything
  perfect progressive
• has been scything
  perfect progressive

Past

• scythed
  simple
• had scythed
  perfect
• was scything
  progressive
• were scything
  progressive
• had been scything
  perfect progressive

Future

• will scythe
  simple
• will have scythed
  perfect
• will be scything
  progressive
• will have been scything
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of scythe

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

Explanation

A scythe is a sharp, curved blade used for mowing or reaping. While farmers use it to cut plants, the grim reaper uses it to, well, scare you to death. In Old English, scythe was spelled siðe. Since there is no longer an ð in modern English, scythe became the accepted form of the word in the early 15th century. It drew its sc- start from the Latin scissor, meaning “carver, cutter.” Farmers use these tools to slice and trim grass and other plant stalks. Napoleon Bonaparte once noted that “Occupation is the scythe of time,” meaning that work mows down or diminishes time.

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