the growth of hair on the face of an adult man, often including a mustache.
2.
Zoology. a tuft, growth, or part resembling or suggesting a human beard, as the tuft of long hairs on the lower jaw of a goat or the cluster of hairlike feathers at the base of the bill in certain birds.
3.
Botany. a tuft or growth of awns or the like, as on wheat or barley.
4.
a barb or catch on an arrow, fishhook, knitting needle, crochet needle, etc.
5.
Also called bevel neck.Printing.
a.
the sloping part of a type that connects the face with the shoulder of the body.
b.
British. the space on a type between the bottom of the face of an x-high character and the edge of the body, comprising both beard and shoulder.
c.
the cross stroke on the stem of a capital G.
–verb (used with object)
6.
to seize, pluck, or pull the beard of: The hoodlums bearded the old man.
7.
to oppose boldly; defy: It took courage for the mayor to beard the pressure groups.
8.
to supply with a beard.
[Origin: bef. 900; ME berd, OE beard; c. G Bart, D baard, LL Langobardi Long-beards, name of the Lombards, Crimean Goth bars, L barba (> Welsh barf), Lith barzdà, OCS brada, Russ borodá; European IE *bHaer-dhā, perh. akin to barley1]
BeardAudio Help (bîrd) Pronunciation Key
American historian and educator who explored the economic aspects of history in works such as An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution (1913). His view that the document was based on its formulators' economic self-interests profoundly affected the study of American history.
Beard, Daniel Carter Known as "Dan." 1850-1941.
American writer and illustrator. In 1905 he founded the Sons of Daniel Boone, which in 1910 became the first Boy Scout organization in the United States.
Beard, Mary Ritter 1876-1958.
American historian and feminist. She shared her husband Charles's economic view of history and collaborated with him on The Rise of American Civilization (first volume 1927), in which they characterized the Civil War as the "second American Revolution," perpetrated by Northern capitalists over Southern plantation owners for economic gain.
O.E. beard "beard," from W.Gmc. *barthaz (cf. M.Du. baert, Ger. bart), seemingly from PIE *bhar-dha "beard" (cf. O.C.S. brada, Lith. barzda, and perhaps L. barba "beard"). The verb is from M.E. phrase rennen in berd "oppose openly," on the same notion as modern slang get in (someone's) face. Pubic hair sense is from 1600s; in the 1811 "Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue," the phrase beard-splitter is defined as, "A man much given to wenching" (see beaver).
"The Grecian beard was curly; the Roman, trimmed; but in the Roman Empire shaving became general about 450 B.C., partly for greater safety in close combat, not to be grasped by the beard. When Pope Leo III shaved, in 795, the Roman Catholic clergy followed his practice, and still generally do." [Shipley, p.28]
beardAudio Help (bîrd) Pronunciation Key
A tuft or group of hairs or bristles on certain plants, such as barley and wheat. The individual strands of a beard are attached to a sepal or petal.
Barb\, n. [F. barbe, fr. L. barba beard. See Beard, n.]1. Beard, or that which resembles it, or grows in the place of it. The barbel, so called by reason of his barbs, or wattles in his mouth. --Walton. 2. A muffler, worn by nuns and mourners. [Obs.] 3. pl. Paps, or little projections, of the mucous membrane, which mark the opening of the submaxillary glands under the tongue in horses and cattle. The name is mostly applied when the barbs are inflamed and swollen. [Written also barbel and barble.] 4. The point that stands backward in an arrow, fishhook, etc., to prevent it from being easily extracted. Hence: Anything which stands out with a sharp point obliquely or crosswise to something else. "Having two barbs or points." --Ascham. 5. A bit for a horse. [Obs.] --Spenser. 6. (Zo["o]l.) One of the side branches of a feather, which collectively constitute the vane. See Feather. 7. (Zo["o]l.) A southern name for the kingfishes of the eastern and southeastern coasts of the United States; -- also improperly called whiting. 8. (Bot.) A hair or bristle ending in a double hook.
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.
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).
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Audio Help [beerd] Pronunciation Key 
