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shave (shāv)
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v. shaved, shaved or shav·en (shāvən), shav·ing, shaves
v.tr.
1.
a. To remove the beard or other body hair from, with a razor or shaver: The barber lathered his face and then shaved him.
b. To cut (the beard, for example) at the surface of the skin with a razor or shaver.
2. To crop, trim, or mow closely: shave a meadow.
3.
a. To remove thin slices from: shave a board.
b. To cut or scrape into thin slices; shred: shave chocolate.
4. To come close to or graze in passing. See Synonyms at brush1.
5.
a. To reduce by a small amount: shaved two months from the schedule.
b. To cut (a price) by a slight margin.
c. To purchase (a note) at a reduction greater than the legal or customary rate.
d. To limit the number of (points) scored by one's own team in an athletic contest by point-shaving.
v.intr.
To remove the beard or other body hair with a razor or shaver.
n.
1. The act, process, or result of shaving.
2. A thin slice or scraping; a shaving.
3. Any of various tools used for shaving.
[Middle English shaven, to scrape, from Old English sceafan.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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