dépiquer

An agricultural term meaning to thresh grain — traditionally, separating grain from the stalk by having animals or machinery tread or beat over harvested sheaves. Largely historical vocabulary today, since modern combine harvesters have replaced the traditional threshing floor (l'aire de dépiquage).

• Autrefois, on dépiquait le blé en faisant marcher des chevaux sur les gerbes. — In the old days, wheat was threshed by having horses walk over the sheaves.
• Le dépiquage se faisait traditionnellement sur une aire en terre battue. — Threshing was traditionally done on a hard-packed earthen floor.
• Les paysans dépiquaient le seigle avant l'arrivée des machines modernes. — Farmers threshed rye before modern machines arrived.

Describes a now largely historical farming technique — a learner will meet it discussing traditional agriculture or rural history, not modern farming.