thresher
/ˈθɹɛʃə(ɹ)/ noun, proper noun
Forms threshers
- noun (agriculture) Anything or anyone that threshes.
- noun (agriculture, historical) A now-obsolete hand tool for threshing, also called a flail.
- noun (agriculture) A modern farm machine for threshing grain, now a part of combine harvesters rather than a separate implement.
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
thrasher threshing machine thresher shark fox shark Alopius vulpinus
Etymology
From Middle English thresshere; equivalent to thresh + -er. The shark's tail is thought to resemble the implement.
Webster’s 1913
- noun One who, or that which, thrashes grain; a thrashing machine.
- noun A large and voracious shark (Alopias vulpes), remarkable for the great length of the upper lobe of its tail, with which it beats, or thrashes, its prey. It is found both upon the American and the European coasts. Called also fox shark, sea ape, sea fox, slasher, swingle-tail, and thrasher shark.
- noun Same as Thrasher.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “thresher”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details