Old English sicol, probably a West Germanic borrowing (cf. Middle Dutch sickele, Dutch sikkel, Old High German sihhila, German Sichel) from Vulgar Latin *sicila, from Latin secula "sickle" (cf. Italian segolo "hatchet"), from PIE root *sek- "to cut" (see section (n.)). Applied to curved or crescent-shaped things from mid-15c. Sickle-cell anemia is first recorded 1922.
sickle sick·le (sĭk'əl)
v. sick·led, sick·ling, sick·les
To cut with a sickle.
To deform a red blood cell into an abnormal crescent shape.
To assume an abnormal crescent shape. Used of red blood cells.
of the Egyptians resembled that in modern use. The ears of corn were cut with it near the top of the straw. There was also a sickle used for warlike purposes, more correctly, however, called a pruning-hook (Deut. 16:9; Jer. 50:16, marg., "scythe;" Joel 3:13; Mark 4:29).
one of the most ancient of harvesting tools, consisting of a metal blade, usually curved, attached to a short wooden handle. The short handle forces the user to harvest in a stooped or squatting position. The longer-handled scythe, the user of which remains upright, evolved from the sickle. Harvesting with a sickle is very slow, but because of its simplicity and low cost, it is still widely used over the world, especially to reap cereals such as wheat and rice and also as a gardening tool.