English
reap
Reap comes from Old English rīpan ‘to reap’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₁reyp- ‘to tear’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁reyp-‘to tear’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*rīpaną‘to reap’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*rīpan‘to reap, harvest’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150rīpanas rēopan‘to reap’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500repen
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1597reap
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁reyp-‘to tear’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*rīpaną‘to reap’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*rīpan‘to reap, harvest’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150rīpanas rēopan‘to reap’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500repen
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1597reap
Earliest quotation: c. 1597, William Shakespeare, The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]: “Came there a certaine Lord, neat and trimly drest;…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁reyp- ‘to tear’
river, arrive, rope, ripe, riviera, rife, taser, riparian, rive, 4 more
Today it means
verb To cut (for example a grain) with a sickle, scythe, or reaping machine.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₁reyp- / reap