[beerd] 
| 1. | 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.
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| 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. |
[beerd] | 1. | Charles Austin, 1874–1948, and his wife Mary, 1876–1958, U.S. historians. |
| 2. | Daniel Carter, 1850–1941, U.S. artist and naturalist: organized the Boy Scouts of America in 1910. |
| 3. | James Andrew, 1903–85, U.S. cooking teacher and food writer. |
| beard (bîrd) n.
[Middle English berd, from Old English beard; see bhardh-ā- in Indo-European roots.] beard'less adj. |
| Beard (bîrd) 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, James Andrew 1903-1985. American cookery expert widely considered to be one of the foremost authorities on American cuisine. |
| 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. |
"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]
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).