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definitions

scythe

[sahyth]
See more synonyms for scythe on Thesaurus.com
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.

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
Related formsscythe·less, adjectivescythe·like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for scything

trim, shear, shave, slice, rip, slash, carve, curtail, divide, crop, clip, scythe, sickle, slay, chip, snip, slit, sliver, hack, guillotine

Examples from the Web for scything

Historical Examples of scything

  • The scything had begun, and she took off her pince-nez to watch it.

    Howards End

    E. M. Forster

  • The gardener was scything the grass between the trees, whistling softly to himself.

    Notwithstanding

    Mary Cholmondeley

  • Peasants everywhere are scything weeds and burning them in smoking heaps.

  • And the love-songs of the wood-pigeons never ceased, nor the faint swish of scything.

    The Dark Flower

    John Galsworthy

  • Everyone, including Mrs Dinkman, seemed convinced that scything was the solution.

British Dictionary definitions for scything

scythe

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 Formsscythelike, adjective

Word Origin for scythe

Old English sigthe; related to Old Norse sigthr, Old High German segansa
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for scything

scythe

n.

Old English siðe, sigði, from Proto-Germanic *segithoz (cf. Middle Low German segede, Middle Dutch sichte, Old High German segensa, German Sense), from PIE root *sek- "to cut" (see section (n.)). The sc- spelling crept in early 15c., from influence of Latin scissor "carver, cutter" and scindere "to cut." Cf. French scier "saw," a false spelling from sier.

scythe

v.

1570s, "use a scythe;" 1590s "to mow;" from scythe (n.). From 1897 as "move with the sweeping motion of a scythe." Related: Scythed; scything.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper