shave

Meaning

Verb

1. (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.
2. (transitive) To cut anything in this fashion.
3. (intransitive) To remove hair from one's face by this means.
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.
6. To reduce in size, weight, time taken etc., usually by a small amount.
7. (archaic, transitive) To be hard and severe in a bargain with; to practice extortion on; to cheat.
8. (US, dated, slang, 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.
9. (Multicultural-London-English, slang, transitive) To injure by employing a knife.

Noun

1. An instance of shaving.
2. A thin slice; a shaving.
3. (US, dated, slang) An exorbitant discount on a note.
4. (US, dated, slang) 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.
5. A hand tool, mainly for woodworking, consisting of a sharp blade with a handle at each end.
6. (informal) A narrow miss or escape; a close shave.

Synonyms

shaving

scrape

plane

sharpen

pare

cut

trim

shear

scratch

cut hair

shorten

scrape off

graze

clip

reduce

razor

🪒

rake

whittle

dress

👗

cleave

dig

haircut

💇

shave off

shave the head

scrabble

delve

get shaved

skin

sweep

shavings

sever

remove

mow

peel

knock off

brush

lower

separate

pluck out

drive

downgrade

bring down

degrade

claw

decorticate

hoax

hit

deceive

hoodwink

circumvent

Translations

raser

rasieren

radere

afeitar

scheren

barbear

afaitar

sich rasieren

raspar

afeitado

afeitarse

rasurar

ξυρίζω

ξύρισμα

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ʃeɪv/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: shaven

Inherited from Old English: sċafan

Cognate with Western Frisian: skave

Cognate with Dutch: schaven

Cognate with Low German: schaven

Cognate with German: schaben

Cognate with Danish: skave

Cognate with Norwegian Nynorsk: skava

Cognate with Swedish: skava

Cognate with Icelandic: skafa

Cognate with Gothic: 𐍃𐌺𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌽

Inherited from Middle English: shave

Inherited from Old English: sceafa

In summary

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”.

Sentences

And after the bath a shave would not be bad .