Shave (?), n. [AS. scafa, sceafa, a sort of knife. See Shave, v. 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.
Shave (?), v. 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 , v. t. [imp.
Shaved (?);p. p. Shaved or
Shaven (&?;); 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. &?;&?;&?;&?;, 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.
Shak. 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 (?), obs. p. p. of Shave. Chaucer.
His beard was
shave as nigh as ever
he can.
Chaucer.
Hear it pronounced