I. ˈbi(ə)rd, ˈbi(ə)d noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English berd, from Old English beard; akin to Old High German bart beard, Latin barba, Old Slavic brada
1. : the hair on the chin, lips, and adjacent parts of the human face usually of an adult male
he has a very light beard and does not shave every day
a. : such hair especially on cheek and chin permitted to grow until capable of being shaped or trimmed
wearing a beard to conceal the scar on his chin
b. : hair growing over the face except that on the upper lip — compare moustache , whisker
2. : any of certain appendages of animals felt to resemble a beard: as
a. : a tuft or fringe of hair about the mouth or chin of certain mammals (as some dogs or the goat)
b. : any of various groups of processes about the mouth (as of barbels on catfish or hairy feathers at the base of the bill of some birds)
c. : any of certain groups, tufts, or clusters of hairs, filaments, or processes located on the bodies of animals elsewhere than about the mouth (as the gills of certain bivalve mollusks or the tuft of coarse hair on the breast of adult male turkeys)
3.
a. : bristlelike often barbed hairs on plants ; especially : the awns of a head of grain
b. beards plural : the bristly hairs on the acorn cup of the valonia oak used in tanning
4. : a projecting element:
a. : a barb or point projecting backward or outward (as on a crochet hook)
b. : a spring piece on the back of a lock bolt to prevent rattling
c. : a crosspiece fastened below the upper lip of a flue pipe of an organ to aid in promptness of speech
d. : bevel 1e ; sometimes : the bevel plus the shoulder — see type illustration
5. : the tail of a comet often when preceding the nucleus
6. : a noticeable error in performance in a broadcast : a word misread or mispronounced : fluff
7. : a person who diverts attention or suspicion from another ; especially : a person employed to place bets for another whose reputation might affect the odds
•
- to one's beard
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English berden, from berd, n.
1. : to cause to have a beard — usually used in adjective uses of the past participle
letters that may be bearded
specifically : to cut barbs on (fishhooks)
2.
a. : to remove the gills of (a shellfish)
b. : to bevel or round the edges of (timber) to a required angle or curve
3. : to confront and oppose with boldness and resolution often to the point of affronting or defying a powerful or secure opponent
no … subject on which he has not taken a clear and open stand even to the point of bearding selfish groups — John Steinbeck
Synonyms: see face