reaper

See also: Reaper

English

Two contestants at a Belgian reaping competition.

Pronunciation

• (American English) IPA^(key): /ˈɹiːpɚ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːpə(ɹ)

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)

1. 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.

2. A machine used to harvest crops.
3. (often capitalized) Ellipsis of Grim Reaper.
   • 1922, E[ric] R[ücker] Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros‎^[1], London: Jonathan Cape, page 31:

     Thereafter when their cups were brimmed anew with foaming wine the Red Foliot spake among them and said, “O ye lords of Witchland, will you that I speak a dirge in honour of Gorice the King that the dark reaper hath this day gathered?”

   • 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

4. A recluse spider (Loxosceles and Sicarius spp.).

Derived terms

• Grim Reaper
• Norwood reaper
• reaper-binder
• reaper-thresher

Related terms

• reap

Translations

one who reaps

• Afrikaans: maaier (af)
• Arabic: حَصَّاد m (ḥaṣṣād)
• Catalan: segador m
• Czech: sekáč (cs) m
• Dutch: maaier (nl) m
• Finnish: elonkorjaaja (fi)
• French: moissonneur (fr) m, récolteur (fr) m
• German: Schnitter (de) m, Mäher (de) m, Mähder (de) m
• Greek:

  Ancient: θεριστής m (theristḗs)

• Hungarian: arató (hu)
• Indonesian: pembabat (id)
• Ingrian: niittäjä
• Italian: mietitore (it), raccoglitore (it), vendemmiatore
• Latin: messor m
• Macedonian: же́твар (mk) m (žétvar)
• Ngazidja Comorian: mvunadji class 1/2
• Ottoman Turkish: اوراقجی (orakcı)
• Polish: żniwiarz (pl) m, żeniec m
• Portuguese: ceifador (pt) m, ceifeiro (pt) m, segador m
• Russian: жнец (ru) m (žnec)
• Spanish: cosechador m, cosechadora (es) f, segador
• Swedish: slåtterkarl c, skördeman c, lieman (sv) c
• Turkish: orakçı (tr)

machine used for harvesting — see harvester

the Grim Reaper — see Grim Reaper

recluse spider — see recluse spider

Etymology 2

Noun

reaper (plural reapers)

1. (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, […].

Anagrams

• Pearre, Perera, rerape