sickle
sic·kle/ˈsɪkl̩/noun, verb
sickle is spelled S-I-C-K-L-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables (sic·kle). It appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 23,835th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, sickle means “An implement having a semicircular blade and short handle, used for cutting long grass and cereal crops” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of sickle is sickles.
How many letters and syllables are in sickle?
| Letters | 6: S-I-C-K-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: sic·kle |
| In writing | 1.4 times per million words; the 23,835th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is sickle?
Sickle appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 23,835th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce sickle?
- /ˈsɪkl̩/
Sickle has 2 syllables, split sic·kle in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-sickle.ogg, En-uk-sickle.ogg, En-au-sickle.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of sickle
- sickles plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- sickling participle, present
- sickled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sickle mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An implement having a semicircular blade and short handle, used for cutting long grass and cereal crops.
Coordinate term: scythe
- 2
A sickle feather, any of the sickle-shaped rear feathers of the domestic cock.
- 3
The crescent moon.
verb
- 1
rareTo cut with a sickle.
Near-synonyms: reap, mow
- 2
Of red blood cells: to assume an abnormal crescent shape.
- 3
To deform (as with a red blood cell) into an abnormal crescent shape, to cause to sickle.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sickle in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | faucille , fauciller |
| German | Sichel |
| Portuguese | foice |
| Spanish | hoz, falce, segur, echona |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does sickle come from?
From Middle English sikel (also assibilated in sichel), from Old English sicol, siċel, from Proto-West Germanic *sikilu, itself borrowed from Latin sēcula (“sickle”) or sīcīlis (“sickle”). Cognate with Dutch sikkel, German Sichel. Remotely related with English scythe and saw.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).