Etymology

sickle

sic·kle
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Today it means: An implement having a semicircular blade and short handle, used for cutting long grass and cereal crops. Full definition →

First used 1922Middle English sikel ← Old English sicol ← Proto-West Germanic *sikilu
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sickle · noun, verb1

  1. Latin · derived fromsēcula“sickle”
  2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*sikilu
  3. Old English · inherited fromsicol
  4. Middle English · inherited fromsikel
  5. English todaysickle

From Middle English sikel (also assibilated in sichel), from Old English sicol, siċel, from Proto-West Germanic *sikilu, itself borrowed from Latin sēcula (“sickle”) or sīcīlis (“sickle”). Cognate with Dutch sikkel, German Sichel. Remotely related with English scythe and saw.

Sickle · proper noun2

  1. German · derived fromSickel
  2. English todaySickle

Probably an Americanized form of German Sickel.

Words from the same roots

GermanSickel all →

sickles

First known use, by meaning

  • from 1922 To cut with a sickle.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.