▪ I. reap, n.1
(riːp)
Forms: 1 reopa, rypa, 4–5 reepe, 4–6 repe, 7– reap.
[OE. reopa, rypa, prob. for *ripa, related to r{iacu}pan or ripan reap v.1]
A bundle or handful of grain or any similar crop; a sheaf, or the quantity sufficient to make a sheaf. (Cf. rip n.)
| c 825 Vesp. Psalter cxxv. 6 Cumað..berende reopan heara. Ibid. cxxviii. 7 Se ðe reopan somnað. a 1340 Hampole Psalter cxxv. 8 Þai sall cum with gladnes: berand þaire repis. 1388 Wyclif Judith viii. 3 Men byndynge togidere reepis in the feeld. c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. vii. 247 Barly..vppon repes bounde And in a oone ybake. c 1460 Towneley Myst. ii. 235 As mych as oone reepe. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §29 In some places they lay them [beans and peas] on repes,..and neuer bynde them. 1613 Markham Eng. Husbandman xviii. (1635) 116 You may put twentie reapes together, and thereof make a cocke. 1764 Museum Rust. II. 81 Though the bottom of the reaps will be a little greenish, they must not be turned to weather the under side. 1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. II. 706 They are usually reaped with the sickle, and laid in thin grips or reaps. 1829 in Brockett (ed. 2). 1876– in dial. glossaries (Cumb., Northumb., Yks.; Glouc., Som.). |
▪ II. reap, n.2
(riːp)
Forms: α. 1 hr{iacu}p(p-, hrip(p-, 1, 4 rip, ryp, 4 ripe, rype, rijp; ripp, ryppe, rep. β. 6 reape, 7, 9 reap.
[OE. r{iacu}p or rip related to r{iacu}pan or ripan reap v.1; on the relationship and history of the forms cf. the note to the vb. Sense 2 is perh. directly from the vb.]
† 1. Harvest, reaping. Obs.
| α c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xiii. 30 Forletas eᵹðer ᵹewæxe wið to hr{iacu}pe..& in t{iacu}d hr{iacu}pes [etc.; Rushw. ripe(s]. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. ix. 37–8 Micel rip ys..Biddaþ ðæs ripes hlaford þæt he sende wyrhtan to his ripe. 1382 Wyclif Gen. viii. 22 All the daies of the erthe, seed and ripe..shulen not rest. ― 2 Sam. xxi. 9 In the dais of the fyrst rijp [1388 the firste rep or ripp]. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VIII. 185 Þou hast no leve to sette þyn hook in oþer men ripe [v.r. ryppe, rip, ryp(e]. |
| β 1542 Becon David's Harp Pref., We had nede therefore to pray vnto the Lord of the haruest, to sende out labourers into his reape. 1600 W. Watson Decacordon (1602) 239 Your plants are blasted in the bud: your corne shaken before the reape. 1679 Blount Anc. Tenures 21 He was..to come to the Lords Reap with all his houshold. |
2. A set of reapers.
| 1826 in Hone Every-day Bk. II. 1167 The lord of the harvest is accompanied by his lady (the person is so called who goes second in the reap). |
3. Judo. (See quot. 1968.) Cf. next, B. 2 e.
| 1968 K. Smith Judo Dict. 167 Reap, an action of the leg or foot to sweep away the legs or feet of an opponent in execution of a throw. 1975 R. Butler Where All Girls are Sweeter ii. 8, I..locked his arm and gave him what the judo boys call a ‘reap’ and his arm cracked loudly as he went down on his back. |
▪ III. reap, v.1
(riːp)
Forms: see below.
[OE. r{iacu}pan or ripan (North. rioppa etc.), rypan, reopan, not represented in the cognate languages: the relationship of the various forms and their subsequent history in ME. is to some extent obscure.
The quantity of the vowel in WS. is not certain, but the pl. pa. tense ripon (rypon) would normally correspond to an inf. r{iacu}pan (conjugated like r{iacu}dan ride.) For Anglian and North. dial., however, a short vowel is proved by the forms with umlaut (reop-, riop-), and by the spelling with double p; how these forms were conjugated does not appear. Whether an OE. *repan can also be inferred from the late pl. pa. tense rœ́pon, and early ME. reopen, is doubtful.
In ME. the infin. types are rīpe(n and rēpe(n, the former of which might represent either OE. r{iacu}pan or ripan, and the latter OE. ripan or *repan. The strong conj. of rēpe(n is that of verbs of the fourth and fifth classes, with pa. tense rap, and pa. pple. repe(n or rope(n. The rare pa. tense rope (pl. ropen) may either be a relic of the old conj. of r{iacu}pan, or a new formation on analogy of the pa. pple. From the 15th c. the conj. has usually been weak, though some strong forms have been retained (or re-formed) in dialect use. The infin. rip, found in some 16th c. writers, is also common in mod. dial., and may partly represent the old northern forms with double p.]
A. Illustration of forms.
1. inf. (and pres.) (α) 1 ripan, rypan, north. hriopa, 3 ripen, ripe, 4 rype.
The normal forms of the present tense in OE. are 1. ripe, 2. ripst, 3. ripð, or ripeð; pl. ripað.
| c 825 Vesp. Psalter cxxviii. 7 Of ðæm ne ᵹefylleð hond his se ripeð. c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xxv. 24 Ðu hripes ðer ðu ne sawes. c 975 Rushw. Gosp. ibid. 26 Ic ripe [c 1000 ripe, rype] þær ic ne seow. c 1000 ælfric Gen. xlv. 6 Man ne mæᵹ naðer erian ne ripan. c 1200 Moral Ode 22 (Trin. Coll. MS.) Alle men sulle ripen þat hie ar sewen. c 1290 ripe [see B. 1]. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 11 Ȝif ȝe [= she] wole wiþ ȝow rype, forbedeþ hir nouȝt. |
(β) 1 reopa, 3 reopen; 2– 4 repen, 4–6 repe, 5–6 reepe, 6–8 reape, (6 Sc. raipe), 6– reap.
| c 825 Vesp. Psalter cxxv. 5 Ða sawað in tearum, in ᵹefian hie reopað. a 1200–25 repen, reopen [see B. 2 b]. a 1300 E.E. Psalter cxxv. 6 In mikel gladschip repe sal þai. a 1325 Prose Psalter cxxviii. 6 Of which he þat shal repen, ne fild nouȝt his honde. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. vi. 15 Canstow..Repe. c 1420 Lydg. Assembly of Gods 1245 Suche as ye haue sowe Must ye nedes reepe. 1530 Palsgr. 686/2, I repe corne with a syckell. 1535 Coverdale Matt. xxv. 26, I reape where I sowed not. ― Rev. xiv. 15 Thruste in thy sycle and reepe. 1588 A. King tr. Canisius' Catech. 185 Quhat so euer a man saues, the same sal he raipe. 1591 Spenser M. Hubberd 263 To plough, to plant, to reap. 1707 in Hearne Collect. 9 Aug. (O.H.S.) II. 32, I should not reape one peny advantage. 1833 Tennyson Lotos-Eaters 166 Sow the seed, and reap the harvest. |
(γ) 1 north. hrioppa, hripp-, 6–7 rippe, 6 rip.
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. vi. 26 Fuglas heofnes ne settas..ne rioppas. Ibid. xxv. 26 Ic hrippo ðer ne seawu ic. 1533–4 Act 25 Hen. VIII in Bolton Stat. Irel. (1621) 75 Their wages to rippe or binde corne. 1565 Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Demeto, to rippe or cut downe with a sickle. |
2. a. str. pa. tense 1 pl. ripon, -rypon, ræpon; 4 rap, rope (pl. ropen); dial. 8–9 rope, 9 rep.
| c 893–a 1122 [see B. 2]. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xiii. 374 If I rope [I wolde] ouer-reche, or ȝaf hem red that ropen [etc.]. 1388 Wyclif Ruth ii. 23 So longe sche rap with hem. |
b. str. pa. pple. (α) 4 ropen, ropun, -yn, 4–5 rope. (β) 4 repe, 4–5 repen, -yne, (9 reapen).
| 1382 Wyclif Gen. xlv. 6 It may not be eerid, ne ropun. 1388 ― Song Sol. v. 1, Y haue rope [v.r. repe] my myrre. c 1385 ropen, -yn, repyne [see B. 2 b]. c 1420 rope [see B. 2]. 1874 Ouida Two little wooden Shoes 256 The wheat was reapen in the fields. |
3. a. weak pa. tense 4 repide, 6 rieped, 7–8 reapt, 8– reaped.
| 1382 repiden [see B. 3]. 1542 rieped [see B. 4]. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage ix. ix. (1614) 876 That which they reapt on the land. 1724 De Foe Mem. Cavalier (1840) 183 The king reaped the fruits of the victory. |
b. weak pa. pple. 5–6 reped, 6 reeped, 6– reaped, 7– reap'd; 6 reapt, rept; ripped.
| 1489 reped [see B. 4]. 1535 Coverdale Rev. xiv. 16 The earth was reeped. a 1547 Surrey æneid iv. (1557) F 2 b, Springyng herbes reapt vp with brasen sithes. 1566 Painter Pal. Pleas. I. 72 When the wheate was ready to be ripped. 1573 Tusser Husb. (1878) 45 Much profit is rept, by sloes well kept. 1611 Bible Rev. xiv. 16 The earth was reaped. 1653 Milton Hirelings Wks. (1851) 365 From him wherfore should be reap'd? |
B. Signification.
1. intr. To perform the action of cutting grain (or any similar crop) with the hook or sickle. Also freq. fig. or in fig. context.
| c 825 [see A. 1 α and β]. c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. C. xxxix. 284 Se þe him ælc wolcn ondræt, ne ripð se næfre. c 950– [see A. 1 α]. c 1000 ælfric Hom. II. 462 Behealdað þas fleoᵹendan fuᵹelas, ðe ne sawað ne ne ripað. c 1250 Moral Ode 11 in E.E.P. (1862) 23 Hy mowen sculen & rien þer þe hi ær seowen. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 303/126 He ne þurte carie of non oþur weork, noþur to ripe ne mowe. 1382 Wyclif Rev. xiv. 15 Sende thi sikel, and repe. c 1450 Mirour Saluacioun 4203 The Austere juge wille repe in place whare he noght sewe. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 11 b, They dyd sowe, & we do repe. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. iii. ii. 113 They that reap must sheafe and binde. a 1822 Shelley Men of Eng. vi, Sow seed,—but let no tyrant reap. 1842 Tennyson Dora 76 The reapers reap'd, And the sun fell, and all the land was dark. |
2. a. trans. To cut (grain, etc.) with the sickle, esp. in harvest; hence, to gather or obtain as a crop (usually of grain) by this or some other process.
| c 893 K. ælfred Oros. iv. viii. §7 Þæt folc him ᵹeþuhte þa hie heora corn ripon..þæt ealle þa ear wæron blodeᵹe. a 900 O.E. Chron. (Parker MS.) an. 896 On hærfæste..þa hwile þe hie hira corn ᵹerypon. a 1122 Ibid. (Laud MS.) an. 1089 Maniᵹ men ræpon heora corn onbutan Martines mæssan. 13.. Propr. Sanct. (Vernon MS.) in Archiv Stud. neu. Spr. LXXXI. 83/22 [The wheat] is ropen and leid ful lowe. 1382 Wyclif Deut. xxiv. 19 Whanne thou repist corn in thi feeld. c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. x. 127 Now in sum stede is panyk rope and mylde. 1495 Trevisa's Barth. De P.R. xvii. clvii. 707 Repers haue repen the corn with hokys and gadred it home. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §29 Pees and benes be moste commonly laste reped or mowen. 1585 Higgins tr. Junius' Nomenclator 107 The strawe, stubble..remaining in the grounde after the corne is rept. 1667 Milton P.L. xii. 18 Labouring the soile, and reaping plenteous crop. 1717 Prior Alma i. 156 No man ever reapt his Corn, Or from the Oven drew his Bread. 1784 Cowper Task v. 203 They ploughed and sowed, And reaped their plenty without grudge or strife. 1812 Sir J. Sinclair Syst. Husb. Scot. i. 268 Many have reaped more than 60 bolls [of potatoes] from one acre. 1825 Cobbett Rur. Rides 239, I am told they give twelve shillings an acre for reaping wheat. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. lxiv, Who ploughs with pain his native lea And reaps the labour of his hands. |
b. In fig. context.
| c 1000 ælfric Hom. II. 534 ᵹif we eow þa gastlican sæd sawaþ, hwonlic biþ þæt we eowere flæsclican þing ripon. a 1200 Moral Ode 20 Ȝe mawen sculen & repen þet ho er sowen. a 1225 Juliana 74 (Bodl. MS.) Ȝe schulen..reopen ripe of þat sed þat ȝe her seowen. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. Prol. 74 Well I wote that ye haue here byforn Of makyng ropyn [v.r. ropen, repyne] and lad a-wey the corn. c 1420 Lydg. Assembly of Gods 1245 Suche as ye haue sowe Must ye nedes reepe. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. iv. 47, I hop'd to reape the crop of all my care. 1667 Milton P.L. iii. 67 Reaping immortal fruits of joy and love. 1718 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. to Abbé Conti 19 May, We die or grow old before we can reap the fruit of our labours. 1842 Tennyson Locksley Hall 139 What is that to him that reaps not harvest of his youthful joys? 1853 Sir H. Douglas Milit. Bridges 147 To reap the fullest fruits of a victory. |
c. With down adv., off adv. and prep.
| 1563 Golding Cæsar iv. (1565) 104 In all other quarters y⊇ corn was reaped down, & none standing any where saue in thys one place. 1592 Knaresborough Wills (Surtees) I. 187 When the same [barley] shalbe reapte of the feilde. 1649 W. Blithe Eng. Improv. Impr. (1653) 75 I'll..begin to enter upon it as soon as the Crop is reaped off. |
d. transf. To cut (plants, flowers, etc.) after the fashion of reaping. Also in fig. context.
| 1721 Mortimer Husbandry II. 123 It will repair the hurt you have done to the Plants in reaping their Shoots. 1781 Cowper Retirement 753 We reap with bleeding hands Flowers of rank odour upon thorny lands. 1784 ― Task vi. 939 Compared with which The laurels that a Cæsar reaps are weeds. 1820 Keats Lamia i. 318 Baskets heap'd Of amorous herbs and flowers, newly reap'd Late on that eve. |
e. Judo. To sweep (one leg or both legs) from under one's opponent.
| 1950 E. J. Harrison Judo iii. 56 When reaping your opponent's leg..you should turn your head..and gaze upwards at the ceiling. 1954 E. Dominy Teach Yourself Judo vii. 73 Now bring your right hip past his right and reap his leg away as already described. 1956 K. Tomiki Judo iii. 74 Making a sickle of your leg, apply the back of your right knee to that of uke's left knee, crosswise. Sharply reap his left leg toward your right oblique back corner. |
3. a. fig. To get in return; to obtain or procure (esp. some profit or advantage) for oneself; to gain, acquire.
| c 1300 S. Cecilia 155 (Ashm. MS.) We schulleþ uor our trauail, þi blisse repe atenende. 1382 Wyclif Hosea x. 13 Ȝe han sowe vnpite, ȝe repiden [1388 han rope or repe] wickidnesse. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. Pref. 2 Men may reape frute and commodity. 1573 Tusser Husb. (1878) 46 By malt ill kept, small profit is rept. 1630 Prynne Anti-Armin. 159 They can reape nothing but discomfort from it. 1671 Milton Samson 966 Why do I..suing For peace, reap nothing but repulse and hate? 1711 Steele Spect. No. 262 ¶6 Those Advantages, which the Publick may reap from this Paper. 1752 Hume Ess. & Treat. (1777) I. 182 He reaps no satisfaction but from low and sensual objects. 1833 Lamb Elia Ser. ii. Pref., He sowed doubtful speeches, and reaped plain, unequivocal hatred. 1863 Bright Sp. Amer. 26 Mar. (1876) 126 Where labour..has reaped its greatest reward. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 197 The greatest blessing which you have reaped from wealth. |
† b. With material object. Obs. rare.
| 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. iii. i. 144 When wit and youth is come to haruest, Your wife is like to reape a proper man. 1630 R. Johnson's Kingd. & Commw. 69 The hils swarme with cattell and sheepe, from whence they reape plenty of butter, cheese, and milke. |
c. To take away by force. rare—1.
| 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 50 The Bramini..vnresisted reaps her Virgin honour. |
4. To cut down or harvest the crop or produce of (a field, etc.). Also with down.
| 1382 Wyclif Jas. v. 4 The hijre of ȝoure werkmen, that repiden ȝoure cuntrees. 1489 Caxton Faytes of A. ii. ix. 108 Theyre landes were almost ripe for to be reped. 1526 Tindale Jas. v. 4 The labourers which haue reped doune youre feldes. 1542 Udall Erasm. Apoph. 210 b, He rieped Asia and had all the eres, and I dooe but gather the stalkes. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 279 With thy Sickle reap the rankest Land. 1784 Cowper Task v. 755 Ye may fill your garners, ye that reap The loaded soil. 1827 G. S. Faber Sacr. Calend. Prophecy (1844) III. 217 If a king shall behold a country reaping or reaped..he shall quickly hear of the slaughter of his people. |
| transf. 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, i. iii. 34 His Chin new reapt, Shew'd like a stubble Land at Haruest home. |
Hence reaped, ˈreapen, ˈreaping ppl. adjs.
| 1765 Museum Rust. III. 193 At market I sold the reaped wheat at one pound per comb. 1819 Keats Fancy 41 Thou shalt hear..Rustle of the reaped corn. 1844 H. Stephens Bk. Farm III. 1069 In reaped sheaves..the straws are straight and hard pressed. 1865 Swinburne Poems & Ball., Garden of Proserpine 6 For reaping folk and sowing. 1874 Ouida Two little wooden Shoes 206 The purple brow of the just reapen lands. 1887 R. L. Stevenson Merry Men iii. 131 Scythes for the reaping angel of Death. |
▪ IV. reap, v.2
(riːp)
Now only dial.
[Var. of rip, due to the existence of rip as var. of reap v.1]
trans. To rip up (a matter).
| 1580 Lyly Euphues Wks. 1902 II. 143 The rages of friendes, reaping vp al the hidden malices, or suspicions, or follyes that lay lurking in the minde. 1698 Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 374 The Courtiers are shy of her Company, because of reaping up their old Sins. 1862 Mrs. H. Wood Channings III. 52, I am sorry you should have reaped up this matter. 1873– in many dial. (esp. northern and western) glossaries. |