shaven
- a past participle of shave.
- closely trimmed.
shave
- to remove a growth of beard with a razor.
- to remove hair from (the face, legs, etc.) by cutting it off close to the skin with a razor.
- to cut off (hair, especially the beard) close to the skin with a razor (often followed by off or away).
- to cut or scrape away the surface of with a sharp-edged tool: to shave hides in preparing leather.
- to reduce to shavings or thin slices: to shave wood.
- to cut or trim closely: to shave a lawn.
- to scrape, graze, or come very near to: The car just shaved the garage door.
- Commerce. to purchase (a note) at a rate of discount greater than is legal or customary.
- to reduce or deduct from: The store shaved the price of winter suits in the spring.
- the act, process, or an instance of shaving or being shaved.
- a thin slice; a shaving.
- any of various tools for shaving, scraping, removing thin slices, etc.
Origin of shave
Synonyms for shave
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comRelated Words for shaven
trim, pare, kiss, shred, skim, brush, slash, shear, prune, cut, peel, clip, strip, decorticate, crop, graze, plane, barber, skin, touchExamples from the Web for shaven
Historical Examples of shaven
He was very fat, with a shaven, swarthy face and the dewlap of an ox.
The Strolling SaintRaphael Sabatini
I conceived a contempt for that shaven, scrawny skipper––I remember it well.
The Cruise of the Shining LightNorman Duncan
"The babies of frogs will become but frogs," said one shaven pate, laughing.
Japanese Fairy WorldWilliam Elliot Griffis
On his shaven head he wore a small skull-cap of plaited grass.
An Outcast of the IslandsJoseph Conrad
A greasy growth of beard was sprouting on the shaven parts of the cheeks.
Nostromo: A Tale of the SeaboardJoseph Conrad
shaven
- closely shaved or tonsured
- (in combination)clean-shaven
shave
- (also intr) to remove (the beard, hair, etc) from (the face, head, or body) by scraping the skin with a razor
- to cut or trim very closely
- to reduce to shavings
- to remove thin slices from (wood, etc) with a sharp cutting tool; plane or pare
- to touch or graze in passing
- informal to reduce (a price) by a slight amount
- US commerce to purchase (a commercial paper) at a greater rate of discount than is customary or legal
- the act or an instance of shaving
- any tool for scraping
- a thin slice or shaving
- an instance of barely touching something
- close shave informal a narrow escape
Word Origin for shave
Word Origin and History for shaven
shave
Old English sceafan (strong verb, past tense scof, past participle scafen), "to scrape, shave, polish," from Proto-Germanic *skaban (cf. Old Norse skafa, Middle Dutch scaven, German schaben, Gothic skaban "scratch, shave, scrape"), from PIE *skabh-, collateral form of root *(s)kep- "to cut, to scrape, to hack" (see scabies). Related: Shaved; shaving. Original strong verb status is preserved in past tense form shaven. Specifically in reference to cutting the hair close from mid-13c. Figurative sense of "to strip (someone) of money or possessions" is attested from late 14c.
shave
c.1600, "something shaved off;" from shave (v.); Old English sceafa meant "tool for shaving." Meaning "operation of shaving" is from 1838. Meaning "a grazing touch" is recorded from 1834. Phrase a close shave is from 1856, on notion of "a slight, grazing touch."
Idioms and Phrases with shaven
shave
see close call (shave).