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DictionaryscytheCurved cutting tool
noun / verb

scythe

SYTHE/saɪð/

A tool with a long curved blade and handle for cutting vegetation, or to cut with or as if with it.

The scythe has a long handle and a curved cutting blade.

A single traditional scythe displayed diagonally, with its long wooden shaft, two handgrips, and long curved steel blade clearly visible beside a small tuft of grass and a few cut stems.
Etymology
scytheOld Englishscythe

Old English siðe already named this harvesting tool. The blade's sweeping action in mowing and reaping also gave the later verb scythe a sense of moving with a sweeping motion.

In context

Slåttergubben 6:05
let almost just the weight of the scythe itself rest in the ground and come along. Just take a little grass. And see it cuts super well.
Quick Introduction to Scythe Mowing - Beginner's Guide

More examples

  • She scythed a narrow path through the weeds.
  • The scythe’s curved blade needed sharpening.
  • Wind scythed through the exposed field.

Forms

scythe · scythes · scythed · scything

Similar words

sickle
A sickle has a shorter handle and is used with one hand; a scythe has a long shaft and a larger sweeping blade.
mower
A mower is a machine for cutting vegetation; a scythe is a hand tool.