Loppers are a type of scissors used for pruning twigs and small branches, working like pruning shears but with longer handles; they are a larger type of manual garden cutting tool, though not as long as pole pruners, called averruncators in British English. Loppers are usually operated with two hands and have handles typically between 30 and 91 centimetres long to give good leverage, with some telescopic designs extending to about 2 metres to increase leverage and reach high branches. They are mainly used to prune tree branches under about 5 centimetres in diameter, and some newer designs add a gear system, a compound lever system or a ratchet drive to increase the force applied to the blades.
Facts
Introduced When (Circa)The English name is attested from Middle English as loppe; the source gives no more specific date and states the word has no known antecedents or cognates in other languages. The cutting tool's own age is not further dated by the source. 1 OriginNamed from the verb to lop, meaning to cut off branches or twigs; the noun and verb first appeared in Middle English as loppe, with no known antecedents or cognates in other languages. 1 Sources
1. Loppers (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationEtymology sectionQuote, Etymology section
The noun and verb first appeared in Middle English as loppe, but have no known antecedents or cognates in other languages.
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