flail

5 8.2

A tool with a long handle and a loose stick used to separate grain from husks

: mayal

First, workers spray the mature cane with herbicide, then move in with the large flail mowers.

Examples

In ancient times, a flail was a common tool among peasants for harvesting crops by hand.
And it was this man who first raised his flail.

For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943)
I remembered how effective my light iron flail had been in the melee.

Fiction book (1991)
During the pilot, cardboard has been ground primarily with a flail chopper, although a farmer could select a different method depending on the equipment at hand.

Academic text (1996)
"We have flails, my new prodhooks, spears, and enough knives to equip two companies along with the Irregulars.

Fiction book (1991)
Farmers traditionally use a flail to separate grain from the husks in a manual threshing process.
The flail consists of a long handle with a swinging stick, making it practical for threshing grain.

combine

6 6.1

grain cleaner

4.8

thrasher

8.6

flail

5 8.2

flail singular

flails plural

Flail first named a simple farming tool: a handle with a free-swinging stick used to beat grain. That's why a flail is a tool for threshing.