— beardlike , adj.
/beard/ , n.
1. the growth of hair on the face of an adult man, often including a mustache.
2. Zool. 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. Bot. 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 . Print.
a. the sloping part of a type that connects the face with the shoulder of the body.
b. Brit. 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. See diag. under type .
v.t.
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.
[ 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 * bH a er-dha, perh. akin to BARLEY 1 ]
Syn. 7. confront, brave, dare, face, challenge.