razor
UK /ˈɹeɪzə/ · US /ˈɹeɪzɚ/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms razors razoring razored razour rasor
- noun A keen-edged knife of peculiar shape, used in shaving the hair from the face or other parts of the body.
- noun Any tool or instrument designed for shaving.
- noun The sharp tusk of a wild boar.
- noun (philosophy) A conceptual device that allows one to shave away unlikely explanations for a phenomenon. “Occam's razor, Hanlon's razor”
- verb (transitive) To shave with a razor.
- proper noun A surname.
Etymology
From Middle English rasour, from Old French rasour, from raser (“to scrape, to shave”). More at rat. By surface analysis, raze + -or. Displaced the native Old English sċierseax (literally “shaving knife”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun A keen-edged knife of peculiar shape, used in shaving the hair from the face or the head. "Take thee a barber's rasor." Ezek. v. 1.
- noun A task of a wild boar. Razor fish. (Zoöl.) (a) A small Mediterranean fish (Coryphæna novacula), prized for the table. (b) The razor shell.
Etymology [OE. rasour, OF. rasur, LL. rasor: cf. F. rasoir, LL. rasorium. See Raze, v. t., Rase, v. t.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “razor”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details