reaper
Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word reaper. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word reaper, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say reaper in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word reaper you have here. The definition of the word reaper will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofreaper, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Two contestants at a Belgian reaping competition.
See also: Reaper
English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Middle English reper, repare, repere, *riper (the last, attested only in surnames Ryper, Riper, etc.), from Old English rīpere (“reaper”), equivalent to reap + -er.
Noun
reaper (plural reapers)
- One who reaps; a person employed to harvest crops from the fields by reaping.
- 1913, Arthur Conan Doyle, “(please specify the page)”, in The Poison Belt , London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:
- Even as we looked some rumour seemed to have spread, for we saw the reapers hurrying from the fields.
- A machine used to harvest crops.
- (often capitalized) Ellipsis of Grim Reaper.
- 1976, Buck Dharma (lyrics and music), “Don't Fear the Reaper”, performed by Blue Öyster Cult:
- Don't fear the Reaper / We'll be able to fly
- 1999, Karl S. Guthke, The Gender of Death: A Cultural History in Art and Literature, page 7:
- Why is the Grim Reaper a man? True, the noun ending would theoretically allow us to visualize the reaper as a woman as well, but we don't.
- 2014, “Graveyard Shift”, performed by The Acacia Strain:
- She told me she wanted to meet the reaper
I had only done her a favor
She didn't deserve to die
But I deserved to kill her
- A recluse spider (Loxosceles and Sicarius spp.).
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
one who reaps
|
machine used for harvesting — see harvester
the Grim Reaper — see Grim Reaper
recluse spider — see recluse spider
Etymology 2
Noun
reaper (plural reapers)
- (India, obsolete) Each of the small laths laid across the rafters of a sloping roof to bear the tiles.
References
- Henry Yule, A[rthur] C[oke] Burnell (1903) “reaper”, in William Crooke, editor, Hobson-Jobson , London: John Murray, .