Beard - Dictionary Definition and Overview

Beard :  (noun)
1: the hair growing on the lower part of a man's face [syn: face fungus, whiskers]
2: a tuft or growth of hairs or bristles on certain plants such as iris or grasses
3: a person who diverts suspicion from someone (especially a woman who accompanies a male homosexual in order to conceal his homosexuality)
4: hairy growth on or near the face of certain mammals
5: tuft of strong filaments by which e.g. a mussel makes itself fast to a fixed surface [syn: byssus] (verb)

1: go along the rim, like a beard around the chin; "Houses bearded the top of the heights"

Based on WordNet 2.0

Beard : \Beard\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bearded; p. pr. & vb. n. Bearding.] 1. To take by the beard; to seize, pluck, or pull the beard of (a man), in anger or contempt.

2. To oppose to the gills; to set at defiance.

No admiral, bearded by three corrupt and dissolute minions of the palace, dared to do more than mutter something about a court martial. --Macaulay.

3. To deprive of the gills; -- used only of oysters and similar shellfish.

Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

Beard : \Beard\, n. [OE. berd, AS. beard; akin to Fries. berd, D. baard, G. bart, Lith. barzda, OSlav. brada, Pol. broda, Russ. boroda, L. barba, W. barf. Cf. 1st Barb.] 1. The hair that grows on the chin, lips, and adjacent parts of the human face, chiefly of male adults.

2. (Zo["o]l.) (a) The long hairs about the face in animals, as in the goat. (b) The cluster of small feathers at the base of the beak in some birds (c) The appendages to the jaw in some Cetacea, and to the mouth or jaws of some fishes. (d) The byssus of certain shellfish, as the muscle. (e) The gills of some bivalves, as the oyster. (f) In insects, the hairs of the labial palpi of moths and butterflies.

3. (Bot.) Long or stiff hairs on a plant; the awn; as, the beard of grain.

4. A barb or sharp point of an arrow or other instrument, projecting backward to prevent the head from being easily drawn out.

5. That part of the under side of a horse's lower jaw which is above the chin, and bears the curb of a bridle.

6. (Print.) That part of a type which is between the shoulder of the shank and the face.

7. An imposition; a trick. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

Beard grass (Bot.), a coarse, perennial grass of different species of the genus Andropogon.

To one's beard, to one's face; in open defiance.

Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

Beard :  The mode of wearing it was definitely prescribed to the Jews (Lev. 19:27; 21:5). Hence the import of Ezekiel's (5:1-4) description of the "razor" i.e., the agents of an angry providence being used against the guilty nation of the Jews. It was a part of a Jew's daily toilet to anoint his beard with oil and perfume (Ps. 133:2). Beards were trimmed with the most fastidious care (2 Sam. 19:24), and their neglet was an indication of deep sorrow (Isa. 15:2; Jer. 41:5). The custom was to shave or pluck off the hair as a sign of mourning (Isa. 50:6; Jer. 48:37; Ezra 9:3). The beards of David's ambassadors were cut off by hanun (2 Sam. 10:4) as a mark of indignity.

On the other hand, the Egyptians carefully shaved the hair off their faces, and they compelled their slaves to do so also (Gen. 41:14).



Based on Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [Bible_Dictionary]:

Beard :  Beard: The hair that normally grows on the male face after puberty. Testosterone, the most potent of the naturally occurring androgens, causes the development of secondary sex features such as the beard that are characteristic of the adult male.

Although there is normally hair on everyone's face, the growth of a real beard on the face of a young child or a woman is not. It is a form of hirsutism (hairiness) and can sometimes reflect an underlying disorder.

The term "beard" may exclude the mustache.



Based on Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [Bible_Dictionary]:
Copyright 2009 wordIQ.com - Privacy Policy  :: Terms of Use  :: Contact Us  :: About Us