shave
English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
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”), German schaben (“to scrape, shave”), Danish skave, Swedish skava (“to scrape, chafe”), Icelandic skafa.
Verb
shave (third-person singular simple present shaves, present participle shaving, simple past shaved or shove (obsolete), past participle shaved or shaven)
- (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.
- (intransitive) To do the same to one's face.
- I had little time to shave this morning.
- (transitive) To cut finely, as with slices of meat.
- to make a passage at a close distance
- 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; [...]
- 1899, Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness, section 2
- (archaic) To be hard and severe in a bargain; to practice extortion; to cheat.
Derived terms
- aftershave
- reshave
- shave brush
- shave cream
- shave foam
- shave down
- shave off
- shaveling
- unshaved
Translations
to remove hair from
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to remove hair from one's face
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Translations to be checked
Etymology 2
Old English sceafa
Noun
shave (plural shaves)
- An instance of shaving.
- I instructed the barber to give me a shave.
- A thin slice; a shaving.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Wright to this entry?)
- (US, slang, dated) An exorbitant discount on a note.
- (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?)
- A hand tool consisting of a sharp blade with a handle at each end; a spokeshave.
Derived terms
Translations
an instance of shaving