Strickling

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. The act of scraping off the excess grain from a measuring vessel with a flat bar called a strickle ; the act of honing a scythe blade on a fine whetstone
2. Levelling the heaped grain in a measure by drawing a bar across its rim ; sharpening a mowing blade by rubbing it with a fine stone
3. Smoothing grain flush with the top of a bushel using a wooden roller ; keeping a scythe keen by working it against a whetstone

Etymology: A strickle is a flat stick or bar used to level off a measure of grain, salt or similar material, sweeping away the heap so each measure holds exactly the same amount. The word reached English from Old English "stricel", which was built from the stem "strick", meaning to stroke or draw across, with the diminutive suffix "-le" added. That suffix makes the tool a little stroking-thing, a small implement for drawing across a surface. The same tool-making pattern shows up in Middle Dutch, where "strijkel" and "streekel" carried the same sense, so the word was shared among the Low Countries and England in the medieval period. Its meaning stayed narrow and practical over the centuries, tied to the grain and measuring trades rather than drifting into abstract use.