reaper

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See also: Reaper

English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
Two contestants at a Belgian reaping competition.

Pronunciation

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  • (American English) IPA(key): /ˈɹiːpɚ/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -iːpə(ɹ)

Etymology 1

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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

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reaper (plural reapers)

  1. One who reaps; a person employed to harvest crops from the fields by reaping.
  2. A machine used to harvest crops.
  3. (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
  4. A recluse spider (Loxosceles and Sicarius spp.).
Derived terms
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Translations
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Etymology 2

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Noun

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reaper (plural reapers)

  1. (India, obsolete) Each of the small laths laid across the rafters of a sloping roof to bear the tiles.
References
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Anagrams

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