shaveling

American  

[sheyv-ling] / ˈʃeɪv lɪŋ /

noun

1. Older Use: Disparaging. a clergyman with a shaven or tonsured head.

2. a young fellow; youngster.

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shaveling British  

/ ˈʃeɪvlɪŋ /

noun

1. derogatory a priest or clergyman with a shaven head

2. a young fellow; youth

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Etymology

Origin of shaveling

First recorded in 1520–30; shave + -ling ¹

Example Sentences

Mulholland, in which the first element means tonsured servant, shaveling, and the second is the name of a saint.

From The Romance of Names by Weekley, Ernest

For I am no shaveling ignoramus, but a gentleman of birth; aye, and one who, though poor, is a near cousin of the marshal himself.

From The Black Douglas by Richards, Frank

We will take you on horseback, and when we have caught the shaveling we will make merry together out of the ducat.

From The Hour Will Come: Volumes I and II A Tale of an Alpine Cloister by Hillern, Wilhelmine von

He would not use my nostrums—   p. 225See, shaveling, here they are!

From The Bon Gaultier Ballads by Doyle, Richard

Clear the room, officer, and let not one shaveling monk put his nose within again, until I send for him.

From The King's Achievement by Benson, Robert Hugh