sickle
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sickle
An agricultural hand tool with a curved, crescent-shaped blade for cutting grass or grain.
Mit der Sichel schnitt der Gärtner das hohe Unkraut am Wegesrand.
The gardener cut the tall weeds along the roadside with the sickle.
crescent
Something that has the shape of a crescent, especially the moon itself in this phase.
Am Abend leuchtete nur eine schmale Sichel des Mondes am Himmel.
In the evening, only a narrow crescent of the moon shone in the sky.
The symbol of 'Hammer und Sichel' (hammer and sickle) is known internationally as a symbol of communism. The sickle represents the peasantry.
Die Flagge der Sowjetunion zeigte Hammer und Sichel.
The flag of the Soviet Union showed the hammer and sickle.
The meaning is usually easy to distinguish: If people are talking about agriculture, gardening, or tools, it refers to the hand tool. If people are talking about the sky, astronomy, or shapes, it refers to the crescent moon.
Der Bauer schärfte seine Sichel vor der Ernte.
The farmer sharpened his sickle before the harvest.
When 'Sichel' (sickle) refers to the tool, it is often combined with verbs like 'schneiden' (to cut), 'mähen' (to mow), or 'ernten' (to harvest). It is used to cut grass, grain, or weeds.
Früher ernteten die Bauern das Getreide mit der Sichel.
In the past, farmers harvested grain with a sickle.
In the figurative meaning, 'Sichel' (crescent) is almost always connected with the moon. Typical phrases are 'die Sichel des Mondes' (the crescent of the moon), 'eine schmale Sichel' (a narrow crescent), or 'die Mondsichel' (the crescent moon).
Man konnte nur die schmale Sichel des zunehmenden Mondes sehen.
You could only see the narrow crescent of the waxing moon.
crescent / half moon
Sichel and Halbmond describe visible shapes of the moon. Sichel usually refers to the moon’s narrow, curved shape shortly after or shortly before a new moon. Halbmond is appropriate when approximately half of the visible lunar disk is illuminated.
Kurz nach Neumond erschien am Abend eine schmale Sichel am Himmel.
Shortly after the new moon, a narrow crescent appeared in the evening sky.
Eine Woche nach Neumond stand am Abend der Halbmond am Himmel.
A week after the new moon, the half moon was in the evening sky.
