Shaving

shaving
    n 1: the act of removing hair with a razor [syn: {shave},
         {shaving}]
    2: a thin fragment or slice (especially of wood) that has been
       shaved from something [syn: {paring}, {sliver}, {shaving}]
    3: the act of brushing against while passing [syn: {grazing},
       {shaving}, {skimming}]
    

Shave \Shave\, v. t. [imp. {Shaved} (sh[=a]vd);p. p. {Shaved} or
   {Shaven} (sh[=a]v"'n); 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. ska`ptein, 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.
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   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.
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            I'll shave your crown for this.       --Shak.
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            The laborer with the bending scythe is seen
            Shaving the surface of the waving green. --Gay.
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   3. To cut off thin slices from; to cut in thin slices.
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            Plants bruised or shaven in leaf or root. --Bacon.
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   4. To skim along or near the surface of; to pass close to, or
      touch lightly, in passing.
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            Now shaves with level wing the deep.  --Milton.
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   5. To strip; to plunder; to fleece. [Colloq.]
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   {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.]
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Shaving \Shav"ing\, n.
   1. The act of one who, or that which, shaves; specifically,
      the act of cutting off the beard with a razor.
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   2. That which is shaved off; a thin slice or strip pared off
      with a shave, a knife, a plane, or other cutting
      instrument. "Shaving of silver." --Chaucer.
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   {Shaving brush}, a brush used in lathering the face
      preparatory to shaving it.
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143 Moby Thesaurus words for "shaving":
      acomia, afterglow, afterimage, alopecia, balance, baldhead,
      baldness, baldpate, baldy, beardlessness, bit, bones, butt,
      butt end, candle ends, chaff, chip, chunk, clip, clipping, collop,
      crumb, culm, cut, cutting, dandruff, deadwood, debris, depilation,
      depilatory, detritus, dishwater, dollop, draff, dregs, dust, end,
      fag end, filings, flake, floccule, flocculus, flock, fossil,
      fragment, garbage, gash, gob, gobbet, gruel, hair remover,
      hairlessness, hogwash, holdover, hunk, husks, lath, leavings, lees,
      leftovers, lump, mere shadow, modicum, moiety, morsel,
      odds and ends, offal, offscourings, orts, paper, paring, parings,
      particle, piece, potsherds, rags, rail, rake, rasher, raspings,
      refuse, relics, remainder, remains, remnant, residue, residuum,
      rest, roach, rubbish, ruins, rump, sawdust, scale, scoop,
      scourings, scrap, scrap iron, scraps, scum, scurf, shadow, shard,
      shards, shavings, shiver, shred, skeleton, slack, slag, slat,
      slice, slip, sliver, slop, slops, smithereen, snack, snatch, snip,
      snippet, soup, splinter, stitch, straw, streak, stubble, stump,
      survival, sweepings, swill, tares, tatter, tonsure, trace, vein,
      vestige, wafer, wastage, waste, waste matter, wastepaper, weeds