Scutcher

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A device used for separating fiber from stalks in textiles ; a worker operating such a machine
2. A mechanical tool that removes unwanted material from plant fibers ; someone who processes these fibers by machine
3. Equipment designed to break up and clean raw plant fibers ; an individual employed to carry out this operation

Etymology: "Scutcher" is a straightforward formation: it combines "scutch," a verb meaning to beat or dress flax and hemp fibres to separate the useful fibre from the woody stalk, with the suffix "-er," which marks a person or thing that performs an action. A scutcher, then, is the machine (or the worker) that does the beating. The base verb "scutch" has an older, more physical sense than the noun suggests. Flax was traditionally retted, dried, and then struck repeatedly to break the woody core and release the long fibres, which were later spun into linen. Mechanised scutching took over this labour, so the word carried the same action from the hand-held tool into the factory.

Synonyms: scutcher machine, fiber separator