Standard Lemma guide

harvestman

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A male harvester; any harvester (person who works to gather in the crops at harvest time).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Near-synonym: carter

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: carter

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: harvester, person

2

noun

Meaning 2

An order of terrestrial, non-venomous arachnids with often very long legs: Opiliones; any individual of this order.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: daddy longlegs, harvest spider, grandfather-graybeard, harry-longlegs, shepherd spider

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: arachnid, critter, creature

3

noun

Meaning 3

spiderlike arachnid with a small rounded body and very long thin legs

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: daddy longlegs, Phalangium opilio

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: arachnid, arachnoid

History

Etymology

From harvest + -man. (sense 2): There are various hypotheses and folk etymologies for why the arachnids are called harvestmen, but the most likely explanation is the shape of their legs, which resemble sickles or scythes. More information The association with harvesting or haymaking is found across Europe; compare words for “harvest spider” in other languages: Dutch hooiwagen (literally “hay-cart”), Welsh medelwr (literally “reaper, harvester”), Irish Pilib an fhómhair (literally “Philip of the harvest”), Danish mejer (literally “mower, reaper”), French faucheur (literally “scyther”), Spanish segador (literally “reaper, harvester, mower”) and agostero (literally “August-er”), Czech sekáč (literally “reaper, mower; warrior”), Polish kosarz (literally “reaper, mower, haymaker”), Russian сенокосец (senokosec, literally “little haymaker”) and косиножка (kosinožka, literally “little scythe-leg”), Ukrainian косарик (kosaryk, literally “mower”), Hungarian kaszáspók (literally “scyther-spider”), Serbo-Croatian pauk kosac (literally “reaper spider”), and even modern Hebrew קוצר (kotsér, originally “shortener”, literally “reaper, harvester”). Further compare German Schneider (literally “cutter; tailor”), Swiss Zimmermann (literally “carpenter”) and Welsh teiliwr (literally “tailor”). (Can this(+) etymology be sourced? )

Across languages

Translations

61 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: hooiwa — arachnid
  • Catalan: frare — arachnid
  • Catalan: opilió — arachnid
  • Cheyenne: tó'êseóhtavé'ho'e — arachnid
  • Chinese Mandarin: 盲蛛 (mángzhū) — arachnid
  • Czech: sekáč — arachnid
  • Danish: mejer — arachnid
  • Dutch: hooiwagen — arachnid
  • Esperanto: opilio — arachnid
  • Finnish: lukki — arachnid
  • French: faucheur — arachnid
  • French: faucheux — arachnid
  • Galician: opilión — arachnid
  • German: Afterspinne — arachnid
  • German: Kanker — arachnid
  • German: Schneckenkanker — arachnid
  • German: Schneider — arachnid
  • German: Weberknecht — arachnid
  • German: Zimmermann — arachnid
  • Hebrew: קוצר (kotsér) — arachnid
  • Hungarian: kaszáspók — arachnid
  • Icelandic: langfætla — arachnid
  • Ido: opiliono — arachnid
  • Interlingua: opilion — arachnid
  • Irish: Pilib an gheataire — arachnid
  • Irish: Pilib an fhómhair — arachnid
  • Irish: pilibín eitre — arachnid
  • Irish: galán — arachnid
  • Japanese: 盲蜘蛛 (mekuragumo) — arachnid
  • Japanese: 座頭虫 (zatōmushi) — arachnid
  • Japanese: 足長おじさん (ashinaga ojisan) — arachnid
  • Korean: 장님거미 (jangnimgeomi) — arachnid
  • Latin: ōpiliō — arachnid
  • Navajo: naʼashjéʼii jáádnézí — arachnid
  • Norwegian: langbein — arachnid
  • Norwegian: vevkjerringer — arachnid
  • Ojibwe: eyebig — arachnid
  • Polish: kosarz — arachnid
  • Portuguese: opilião — arachnid
  • Portuguese: aranhiço — arachnid
  • Russian: сеноко́сец (senokósec) — arachnid
  • Serbo-Croatian: putnik — arachnid
  • Serbo-Croatian: pauk kosac — arachnid
  • Serbo-Croatian: kosac — arachnid
  • Slovak: kosec — arachnid
  • Slovene: matija — arachnid
  • Slovene: suha južina — arachnid
  • Spanish: segador — arachnid
  • Spanish: opilión — arachnid
  • Spanish: agostero — arachnid
  • Spanish: araña patona — arachnid
  • Spanish: pinacate — arachnid
  • Spanish: falangio — arachnid
  • Spanish: chichina — arachnid
  • Spanish: chinchina — arachnid
  • Swedish: lockespindel — arachnid
  • Turkish: müjdeci — arachnid
  • Turkish: mücdeci — arachnid
  • Ukrainian: коса́рик (kosáryk) — arachnid
  • Welsh: medelwr — arachnid
  • Welsh: teiliwr — arachnid