Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

grim reaper

/ˈɡɹɪm ˈɹi.pɚ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.15 in modern English

Syllables: grim reaper
IPA: /ˈɡɹɪm ˈɹi.pɚ/

15

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

1

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

name

A personification of Death as an old man, or a skeleton, carrying a scythe, taking souls to the afterlife.

name

Alternative letter-case form of Grim Reaper.

Example Sentences

"Her husband was dead, and Werper fancied that he could replace in the girl’s heart the position which had been vacated by the act of the grim reaper."
""Golly, I feel like the devil!" muttered Anthony dispassionately. Relaxing, he tumbled back upon his pillow. "Bring on your grim reaper!""
"Mary, will you be mine? Shall we go round together? Will you fix up a match with me on the links of life which shall end only when the Grim Reaper lays us both a stymie?"
"On the one hand, we had a scenario where, effectively, the American admiral just went "You know what, all the destroyers attack", at which point they mowed through the Japanese destroyers like a Grim Reaper through a harvest of very, very dead gorn, especially with the Brooklyns in support."
"But that is the likely outcome if the railway waits for Treasury's grim reaper to come a-calling."

Etymology

From grim + reaper, first attested 1847. The word grim previously had a stronger meaning ("fierce, angry, sinister") and had more of an association with ghostliness (compare Old English grima (“specter, apparition”), English grim (n.)). The association between grim and death dates back to at least the late 16th century (the line "grim death, how foul and loathsome is thine image" appears in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew around 1590). The reaper element comes from the personification of Death as a reaper (harvester) of souls in connection to the popular depiction of Death wielding a scythe. The symbol of the scythe itself comes from a partially unintentional conflation of Cronus (the Titan associated with the harvest, said to have used his scythe to castrate his father Uranus) and Chronos (the personification of Father Time).

Word Breakdown

Root: *gʰrem-

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈɡɹɪm ˈɹi.pɚ/
British English: /ˈɡɹɪm ˈɹiː.pə/

Inflected Forms

the Grim Reaper (canonical) Grim Reapers (plural)

Phrases

Grim Reaper paradox like grim death Father Time

Frequently Paired Words

like grim death Father Time shinigami

Synonyms

reaper Azrael death pale rider rider angel of death Shinigami psychopomp

Questions

How do you pronounce grim reaper?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈɡɹɪm ˈɹi.pɚ/.
What does grim reaper mean?: A personification of Death as an old man, or a skeleton, carrying a scythe, taking souls to the afterlife.
Where does grim reaper come from?: From grim + reaper, first attested 1847. The word grim previously had a stronger meaning ("fierce, angry, sinister") and had more of an association with ghostliness (compare Old English grima (“specter, apparition”), English grim (n.)). The association between grim and death dates back to at least the late 16th century (the line "grim death, how foul and loathsome is thine image" appears in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew around 1590). The reaper element comes from the personification of Death as a reaper (harvester) of souls in connection to the popular depiction of Death wielding a scythe. The symbol of the scythe itself comes from a partially unintentional conflation of Cronus (the Titan associated with the harvest, said to have used his scythe to castrate his father Uranus) and Chronos (the personification of Father Time).

How to pronounce grim reaper

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