A
farm tool, wielded with two hands, for
cutting
grass,
grain, or other tall, thin
crops. It consists of a long curved metal
blade attached to a long wooden
handle. The scythe was developed from the
sickle, which has a shorter blade and a shorter handle and is worked with one hand. The scythe is a lever getting more power than a sickle due to the longer handle; it was also suggested to me that it has more ease on the worker's back.
The scythe was in use in
Europe at least by the time of the
Roman Empire. Scythes with a half circle of bent willow attached near the blade to
gather the cut
stems were in use in
Flanders by the end of the 15th century. Scythes with curved instead of straight handles came into use by the end of the 1600's.
The scythe was increasingly used in
reaping
wheat,
oats,
barley, and other such crops until the invention of
mechanical reapers in the 1830's. Since then, it has largely been supplanted for
harvesting crops.
The scythe can still be seen today as a
symbol of
Death (
Grim Reaper) who harvests the
souls of man rather than wheat or grass. Although Death typicaly touches his prey to
kill them, I'm sure if he really wanted to he could use his scythe.