25-08-2017, 07:52 PM
The words scythe and sickle are etymologically related (from the same PIE root). The leaves of the VM plant would make bad sickles, but some of them look like fine scythe blades.
Once again though, a word of warning when relying on folk names. These are regularly less old than you'd think. Ideally every proposal should be checked against early 15th century sources.
Just to give you an idea of how treacherous the terrain is, apparently in English the word sicle was only "applied to curved or crescent-shaped things from mid-15c.".
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That is to say, in English our image of a sickle wasn't named "sickle" yet when the VM was written. Of course this could be different in other languages. Etymological dictionaries are very handy here.
Bottom line though, the leaves do look like scythe blades. This might be their natural appearance, though in all likelihood in the VM the image has been "exaggerated" for mnemonic purposes. This may indeed point to the name of the plant, which would make sense since plants can be named for the shape of their leaves. It doesn't have to be in German though
Once again though, a word of warning when relying on folk names. These are regularly less old than you'd think. Ideally every proposal should be checked against early 15th century sources.
Just to give you an idea of how treacherous the terrain is, apparently in English the word sicle was only "applied to curved or crescent-shaped things from mid-15c.".
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
That is to say, in English our image of a sickle wasn't named "sickle" yet when the VM was written. Of course this could be different in other languages. Etymological dictionaries are very handy here.
Bottom line though, the leaves do look like scythe blades. This might be their natural appearance, though in all likelihood in the VM the image has been "exaggerated" for mnemonic purposes. This may indeed point to the name of the plant, which would make sense since plants can be named for the shape of their leaves. It doesn't have to be in German though