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Webster 1913 Edition

Shave

Shave

(shāv)
,
obs.
p.
p.
of
Shave
.
Chaucer.
His beard was
shave
as nigh as ever he can.
Chaucer.

Shave

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp.
Shaved
(shāvd)
;
p. p.
Shaved
or
Shaven
(shāv′’n)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Shaving
.]
[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.
σκάπτειν
, and probably to L.
scabere
to scratch, to scrape. Cf.
Scab
,
Shaft
,
Shape
.]
1.
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
.
2.
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.
I’ll
shave
your crown for this.
Shakespeare
The laborer with the bending scythe is seen
Shaving
the surface of the waving green.
Gay.
3.
To cut off thin slices from; to cut in thin slices.
Plants bruised or
shaven
in leaf or root.
Bacon.
4.
To skim along or near the surface of; to pass close to, or touch lightly, in passing.
Now
shaves
with level wing the deep.
Milton.
5.
To strip; to plunder; to fleece.
[Colloq.]
To shave a note
,
to buy it at a discount greater than the legal rate of interest, or to deduct in discounting it more than the legal rate allows.
[Cant, U.S.]

Shave

,
Verb.
I.
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.

Shave

,
Noun.
[AS.
scafa
, sceafa, a sort of knife. See
Shave
,
Verb.
T.
]
1.
A thin slice; a shaving.
Wright.
2.
A cutting of the beard; the operation of shaving.
3.
(a)
An exorbitant discount on a note.
[Cant, U.S.]
(b)
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.
[Cant, U.S.]
N. Biddle.
4.
A hand tool consisting of a sharp blade with a handle at each end; a drawing knife; a spokeshave.
5.
The act of passing very near to, so as almost to graze;
as, the bullet missed by a close
shave
.
[Colloq.]
Shave grass
(Bot.)
,
the scouring rush. See the Note under
Equisetum
.
–
Shave hook
,
a tool for scraping metals, consisting of a sharp-edged triangular steel plate attached to a shank and handle.

Webster 1828 Edition

Shave

SHAVE

,
Verb.
T.
pret. shaved; pp. shaved or shaven.
1. To cut or pare off something from the surface of the body by a razor or other edged instrument, by rubbing, scraping or drawing the instrument along the surface; as, tto shave the chin and cheeks; to shave the head of its hair.
He shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing. Num. 6.
2. To shave off, to cut off.
Neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard. Lev. 21.
3. To pare close.
The bending sythe

Definition 2024

shave

shave

English

Verb

shave ‎(third-person singular simple present shaves, present participle shaving, simple past shaved or (obsolete) shove, past participle shaved or shaven)

  1. (transitive) To make bald by using a tool such as a razor or pair of electric clippers to cut the hair close to the skin.
  2. (transitive) To cut anything in this fashion.
    • The labourer with the bending scythe is seen / Shaving the surface of the waving green.
  3. (intransitive) To remove hair from one's face by this means.
    I had little time to shave this morning.
  4. (transitive) To cut finely, as with slices of meat.
  5. To skim along or near the surface of; to pass close to, or touch lightly, in passing.
    • Milton
      Now shaves with level wing the deep.
    • 1899, Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness, section 2
      […] I watched for sunken stones; I was learning to clap my teeth smartly before my heart flew out, when I shaved by a fluke some infernal sly old snag that would have ripped the life out of the tin–pot steamboat and drowned all the pilgrims; […]
  6. (archaic, transitive) To be hard and severe in a bargain with; to practice extortion on; to cheat.
  7. (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.
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

Old English sceafa

Noun

shave ‎(plural shaves)

  1. An instance of shaving.
    I instructed the barber to give me a shave.
  2. A thin slice; a shaving.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Wright to this entry?)
  3. (US, slang, dated) An exorbitant discount on a note.
  4. (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.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of N. Biddle to this entry?)
  5. A hand tool consisting of a sharp blade with a handle at each end; a spokeshave.
Derived terms
Translations

Anagrams

Etymology

From Middle English shaven, schaven, from Old English scafan ‎(“to shave, scrape, shred, polish”), from Proto-Germanic *skabaną ‎(“to scratch”), from Proto-Indo-European *skÀbʰ-, *skabʰ- ‎(“to cut, split, form, carve”). Cognate with West Frisian skave, Dutch schaven ‎(“to shave, plane”), Low German schaven ‎(“to scrape, scratch, shave”), German schaben ‎(“to scrape, shave”), Danish skave, Swedish skava ‎(“to scrape, chafe”), Icelandic skafa, Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌽 ‎(skaban, “to shear, shave”).

Pronunciation

  • enPR: shāv, IPA(key): /ʃeɪv/
  • Rhymes: -eɪv

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