"meadow," Middle English mede, from Old English mæd, Anglian and Kentish med "meadow, pasture," from Proto-Germanic *medwo (source also of Old Frisian mede, Dutch made, German Matte "meadow," Old English mæþ "harvest, crop"), from PIE *metwa- "a mown field," from root *me- (4) "to cut down grass or grain." Now only archaic or poetic.
"to take or cull out" a passage in a written or printed work, "select, cite, extract," early 15c. (implied in excerpte), from Latin excerptus, past participle of excerpere "pluck out, pick out, extract," figuratively "choose, select, gather," also "to leave out, omit," from ex "out" (see ex-) + carpere "pluck, gather," from PIE root *kerp- "to gather, pluck, harvest." Related: Excerpted; excerpting.
Old English mædwe "low, level tract of land under grass; pasture," originally "land covered in grass which is mown for hay;" oblique case of mæd "meadow, pasture," from Proto-Germanic *medwo (source also of Old Frisian mede, Dutch made, German Matte "meadow," Old English mæþ "harvest, crop"), from PIE *metwa- "a mown field," from root *me- (4) "to cut down grass or grain." Meadow-grass is from late 13c.
"to cut grain with a hook or sickle, cut and gather a harvest," Middle English repen, from Old English reopan, a Mercian and Northumbrian (Anglian) form of repan, geripan "to reap," related to Old English ripe "ripe" (see ripe). The transferred and figurative use, "to gather in by effort of any kind; gather the fruit of labor or works" is as old as the word itself in English due to Biblical language. Related: Reaped; reaping. Reaping-machine is attested by 1762.
1530s, "one's proper work or purpose; power of acting in a specific proper way," from French fonction (16c.) and directly from Latin functionem (nominative functio) "a performance, an execution," noun of action from funct-, past-participle stem of fungi "perform, execute, discharge," from PIE *bhung- "be of use, be used" (source also of Sanskrit bhunjate "to benefit, make benefit, atone," Armenian bowcanem "to feed," Old Irish bongaid "to break, harvest"), which is perhaps related to root *bhrug- "to enjoy." Meaning "official ceremony" is from 1630s, originally in church use. Use in mathematics probably was begun by Leibnitz (1692). In reference to computer operations, 1947.
Use of the word in English transferred late 14c. to the Temple in Jerusalem (which continued its function). Sense of "house of worship" first recorded 1690s. Also in Biblical language, "the body as the temporary abode of the soul" (late 14c.). The Old Testament Jewish Feast of Tabernacles (mid-October) was observed as a thanksgiving for harvest. This was rendered in English c. 1400 as Feste of Logges ("lodges"). Related: Tabernacular.
