The Grim Reaper Carries a Farming Tool
A reaper cuts and gathers crops. Death's traditional scythe is agricultural equipment used as a metaphor.
A reaper harvests a crop by cutting it. Death has carried the same tool since the medieval period: the *Grim Reaper* holds a scythe because the harvest is the natural image for lives being cut down in their season. The figure appeared during the Black Death, when the metaphor needed no explaining.
- One who harvests. *A team of reapers.*
- A harvesting machine. *A mechanical reaper.*
- The Grim Reaper — death personified. *The Grim Reaper.*
- Reap — to harvest, or to receive. *Reap the rewards.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | reaper | A grim reaper. |
| Plural | reapers | Field reapers. |
| Verb | reap | Reap the harvest. |
| Related | scythe | A sharpened scythe. |
| Related | sickle | A curved sickle. |
How it is used in a sentence
- You reap what you sow.Proverbial.
- McCormick's reaper transformed farming.Patented in 1834.
- A scythe is swung two-handed.A sickle is used one-handed.
Harvesting tools
- Sickle — a short curved blade used one-handed
- Scythe — a long blade swung with both hands
- Reaper — a horse-drawn cutting machine
- Reaper-binder — cut and tied sheaves in one pass
- Combine harvester — combines reaping, threshing and winnowing
From *reap*, Old English *ripan*, to harvest, related to *ripe*.
Why does Death carry a scythe?
Because harvesting is the natural metaphor for lives cut down. The image spread during the Black Death in the fourteenth century.
Are reap and ripe related?
Yes. Both come from a root connected with harvesting, and ripe means ready to be reaped.