reaper

Etymology

From Middle English reper, repare, repere, *riper (the last, attested only in surnames Ryper, Riper, etc.), from Old English rīpere (“reaper”), equivalent to reap + -er.

noun

1. One who reaps; a person employed to harvest crops from the fields by reaping.
2. A machine used to harvest crops.
3. (often capitalized) Ellipsis of Grim Reaper.
   Don't fear the Reaper / We'll be able to fly 1976, Buck Dharma (lyrics and music), “Don't Fear the Reaper”, performed by Blue Öyster Cult
   Why is the Grim Reaper a man? True, the noun ending would theoretically allow us to visualize the reaper as a woman as well, but we don't. 1999, Karl S. Guthke, The Gender of Death: A Cultural History in Art and Literature, page 7
4. The recluse spider (Loxosceles and Sicarius spp.).