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harvest

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harvest

  • /ˈhɑɹ.vəst/ US
  • /ˈhɑɹ.vɪst/ US
  • /ˈhɑː(ɹ)vɪst/ UK
  • /ˈhɑː(ɹ)vəst/ UK
  • /ˈhaːvəst/ Australia, New Zealand

Where it comes from

From Middle English harvest, hervest, from Old English hærfest (“autumn, harvest-time; August”), from Proto-West Germanic *harbist, from Proto-Germanic *harbistaz (“harvest-time, autumn, fall”), from *harbaz, from Proto-Indo-European *kerp-.

Cognates

Cognate with Sylt North Frisian Hārefst, West Frisian hjerst, Dutch herfst, German Herbst, dated German Low German Harvst, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål høst, Norwegian Nynorsk haust; further with Latin carpere (“to seize”), Ancient Greek καρπός (karpós, “fruit”), κείρω (keírō, “to cut off”).

noun harvests · harvist · hervest · harst · hairst

  1. countable, uncountable The process of gathering the ripened crop; harvesting. The constant rain made the harvest a nightmare this year.
  2. countable, uncountable The yield of harvesting, i.e., the gathered crops or fruits. This year's cotton harvest was great but the corn harvest was disastrous.
  3. broadly, countable, uncountable The product or result of any exertion or course of action; reward or consequences. The surveillance mission yielded a healthy harvest of intel.
  4. countable, uncountable The season of gathering ripened crops; specifically, the time of reaping and gathering grain.
  5. UK, countable, dialectal, uncountable The third season of the year; autumn; fall. Harvest is usually very damp and rainy.
  6. countable, uncountable A modern pagan ceremony held on or around the autumn equinox, which is in the harvesting season.

verb harvests · harvesting · harvested · harvist · hervest

  1. transitive To bring in a harvest; reap; glean. We harvested the apples in September already.
  2. transitive To take a living organism as part of a managed process to gather food or resources, often with the intention of maintaining a healthy population. An efficient rifle or shotgun can harvest a deer for venison.
  3. transitive To take (an organ) from an organ donor.
  4. intransitive To be occupied bringing in a harvest. We're going to harvest day and night, because the weather is about to turn sour.
  5. transitive To win, achieve a gain. The rising star harvested well-deserved acclaim, even an Oscar under 21.

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