shave
/ˈʃeɪ̯v/ verb, noun, proper noun
Forms shaves shaving shaved shaven shove
- verb (transitive) To make (the head, skin etc.) bald or (the hair) shorter by using a tool such as a razor or electric clippers to cut the hair close to the skin.
- verb (transitive) To cut anything in this fashion.
- verb (intransitive) To remove hair from one's face by this means. “I had little time to shave this morning.”
- verb (transitive) To cut finely, for example slices of meat.
- verb To skim along or near the surface of; to pass close to, or touch lightly, in passing.
- verb To reduce in size, weight, time taken etc., usually by a small amount.
- verb (archaic, transitive) To be hard and severe in a bargain with; to practice extortion on; to cheat.
- verb (US, slang, dated, transitive) To buy (a note) at a discount greater than the legal rate of interest, or to deduct in discounting it more than the legal rate allows.
- noun An instance of shaving. “I instructed the barber to give me a shave.”
- noun A thin slice; a shaving.
- noun (US, slang, dated) An exorbitant discount on a note.
- noun (US, slang, dated) A premium paid for an extension of the time of delivery or payment, or for the right to vary a stock contract in any particular.
- noun A hand tool, mainly for woodworking, consisting of a sharp blade with a handle at each end.
- noun (informal) A narrow miss or escape; a close shave.
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
stab chef ching juice shiv jook shank shaving trim knock off plane
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English shaven, schaven, from Old English sċafan (“to shave, scrape, shred, polish”), from Proto-West Germanic *skaban, from Proto-Germanic *skabaną (“to scrape”), from Proto-Indo-European *skabʰ- (“to cut, split, form, carve”).
Cognate with West Frisian skave, Dutch schaven, Low German schaven, German schaben, Danish skave, Norwegian Nynorsk skava, Swedish skava, Icelandic skafa, Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌽 (skaban), all roughly “to scrape, chafe, shave, plane, remove the outer lay of”.
From Middle English shave, from Old English sceafa, from Proto-Germanic *skabô.
Webster’s 1913
- verb To cut or pare off from the surface of a body with a razor or other edged instrument; to cut off closely, as with a razor; as, to shave the beard.
- verb To make bare or smooth by cutting off closely the surface, or surface covering, of; especially, to remove the hair from with a razor or other sharp instrument; to take off the beard or hair of; as, to shave the face or the crown of the head; he shaved himself.
- verb To use a razor for removing the beard; to cut closely; hence, to be hard and severe in a bargain; to practice extortion; to cheat.
- noun A thin slice; a shaving. Wright.
Etymology [OE. shaven, schaven, AS. scafan, sceafan; akin to D. schaven, G. schaben, Icel. skafa, Sw. skafva, Dan. skave, Goth. scaban, Russ. kopate to dig, Gr. scabere to scratch, to scrape. Cf. Scab, Shaft, Shape.]
Etymology [AS. scafa, sceafa, a sort of knife. See Shave, v. t.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “shave”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details