Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

beard       (bîrd)  Pronunciation Key  n.   The hair on a man's chin, cheeks, and throat. A hairy or hairlike growth such as that on or near the face of certain mammals. A tuft or group of hairs or bristles on certain plants, such as barley and wheat. One who serves to divert suspicion or attention from another. Printing The raised slope on a piece of type between the shoulder or counter and the face. Also called neck. tr.v.   beard·ed, beard·ing, beards To furnish with a beard. To confront boldly. [Middle English berd, from Old English beard; see bhardh-ā- in Indo-European roots.] beard'less adj.

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Beard       (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.

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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.

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Beard, James Andrew 1903-1985.   American cookery expert widely considered to be one of the foremost authorities on American cuisine.

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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.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
beard 

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

beard
noun
1.	the hair growing on the lower part of a man's face
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"

The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

beard       (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.

Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: beard
Pronunciation: 'bi(&)rd
Function: noun
: the hair that grows on a man's face often excluding the mustache —beard·ed /-&d/ adjective

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Beard

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.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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).

On-line Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

beard

beard: in CancerWEB's On-line Medical Dictionary