from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Pare \Pare\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Pared}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Paring}.] [F. parer to pare, as a horse's hoofs, to dress or
curry, as, leather, to clear, as anchors or cables, to parry,
ward off, fr. L. parare to prepare. Cf. {Empire}, {Parade},
{Pardon}, {Parry}, {Prepare}.]
1. To cut off, or shave off, the superficial substance or
extremities of; as, to pare an apple; to pare a horse's
hoof.
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2. To remove; to separate; to cut or shave, as the skin,
rind, or outside part, from anything; -- followed by off
or away; as, to pare off the rind of fruit; to pare away
redundancies.
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3. Fig.: To diminish the bulk of; to reduce; to lessen.
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The king began to pare a little the privilege of
clergy. --Bacon.
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