|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
Beards
BeardsWhen it came to the wearing of facial hair, Roman men went through several shifts in style over the long history of their civilization. From the founding of Rome in 753 b.c.e. until about 300 b.c.e., all men wore long beards and long hair. In a way, they had no choice, for razors hadn't been invented. Then, in about 300 b.c.e., a barber from the island of Sicily introduced the razor and everything changed. For the next several hundred years Roman men followed a simple rule about facial hair: slaves wore beards and free men and citizens did not. It took a vain emperor to change men's beard styles again. The emperor Hadrian (76–138 c.e.) came to power as a result of his skills as a military general, and he ruled the Roman Empire from 117 to 138 c.e. In order to hide his facial scars, Hadrian wore a beard and curly hair. (In fact, it is likely that he curled both his hair and his beard.) In ancient Rome the emperor held all the power, and men across the empire followed his lead. Thus, beards once again came in style. Slaves, on the other hand, began to shave. When the emperor Constantine (c. 285–337 c.e.) came into power in 306 c.e., he brought a clean-shaven face back into fashion again. When beards were in fashion, men took great care of them. They visited barbers to have their beards clipped, plucked, and curled. Wealthy men kept slaves whose sole duty was to care for their master's hair. FOR MORE INFORMATIONBatterberry, Michael, and Ariane Batterberry. Fashion: The Mirror of History. New York: Greenwich House, 1977. Cosgrave, Bronwyn. The Complete History of Costume and Fashion: From Ancient Egypt to the Present Day. New York: Checkmark Books, 2000. Symons, David J. Costume of Ancient Rome. New York: Chelsea House, 1987. |
|
|
Cite this article
"Beards." Fashion, Costume, and Culture: Clothing, Headwear, Body Decorations, and Footwear through the Ages. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Beards." Fashion, Costume, and Culture: Clothing, Headwear, Body Decorations, and Footwear through the Ages. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3425500111.html "Beards." Fashion, Costume, and Culture: Clothing, Headwear, Body Decorations, and Footwear through the Ages. 2004. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3425500111.html |
|
beard
beard hair on the lower portion of the face. The term mustache refers to hair worn above the upper lip. Attitudes toward facial hair have varied in different cultures. In ancient Egypt, as well as Turkey and India, the beard was regarded as a sign of dignity and wisdom. Beards continued into the Greek civilization until the 4th cent. BC, when Alexander the Great ordered his soldiers shaved. The Romans, however, actually introduced the practice of regular shaving. The belief that the beard denotes wisdom was widespread in ancient China, and the cult of the beard has been dominant in Middle Eastern cultures from ancient times to the recent past. As a symbol of virility and status, the beard has often acquired religious significance. Muhammad enjoined his followers to grow beards; the Sikhs of India are not permitted to remove a single hair from their bodies; and the patriarchs of the tribes of Israel were bearded. Hindus, on the other hand, have traditionally been clean-shaven. Prior to the 7th cent., most Anglo-Saxons wore beards, but with the spread of Christianity, beards were discouraged. However, since that time beards of all sizes and shapes have appeared and disappeared with the cycles of fashion. The guardsman's mustache of the 18th and early 19th cent. was the sign of an army man, and after 1830 the beard became the emblem of the French radicals. In the 20th cent. beards and mustaches were generally out of fashion until the 1960s when, together with long hair, they became popular with young people.
|
|
|
Cite this article
"beard." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "beard." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-beard.html "beard." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-beard.html |
|
beard
beard / bi(ə)rd/ • n. 1. a growth of hair on the chin and lower cheeks of a man's face: he had a black beard. ∎ a tuft of hair on the chin of certain mammals, for example a lion or goat. ∎ an animal's growth or marking that is likened to a beard, e.g., the gills of an oyster, or the beak bristles of certain birds. ∎ a tuft of hairs or bristles on certain plants, esp. the awn of a grass. 2. inf. a person who carries out a transaction, typically a bet, for someone else in order to conceal the other's identity. ∎ a person who pretends to have a romantic or sexual relationship with someone else in order to conceal the other's true sexual orientation. • v. [tr.] boldly confront or challenge (someone formidable). PHRASES: beard the lion in his den (or lair) confront or challenge someone on their own ground.DERIVATIVES: beard·ed adj. [in comb.] a gray-bearded man. beard·less adj. |
|
|
Cite this article
"beard." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "beard." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-beard005.html "beard." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-beard005.html |
|
beard
beard Full beards were worn by Jewish men, for whom it was a sign of vitality (unlike the Egyptians, Gen. 41: 14). It was an outrage when Hanun, king of the Ammonites, cut off the beards of David's envoys (2 Sam. 10: 4); and Ezra pulled out his beard to show the depth of his distress (Ezra 9: 3). It has been suggested that the insult voluntarily suffered by the Servant (Isa. 50: 6) of plucking the beard is influenced by the ritual of the Babylonian New Year Festival when the king submitted to this cultic suffering to give reassurance to the people that in their time of distress they would also be succoured by God.
|
|
|
Cite this article
W. R. F. BROWNING. "beard." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. W. R. F. BROWNING. "beard." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-beard.html W. R. F. BROWNING. "beard." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-beard.html |
|
Beards
37. BeardsSee also 149. FACIAL FEATURES ; 193. HAIR .
|
|
|
Cite this article
"Beards." -Ologies and -Isms. 1986. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Beards." -Ologies and -Isms. 1986. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2505200048.html "Beards." -Ologies and -Isms. 1986. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2505200048.html |
|
beard
beard OE. beard = OHG., G. bart :- WGmc. *barǒa, rel. to OSl. brada beard (Russ. borodá), L. barba.
|
|
|
Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "beard." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "beard." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-beard.html T. F. HOAD. "beard." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-beard.html |
|
Beard
Beard: see HAIR.
|
|
|
Cite this article
JOHN BOWKER. "Beard." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN BOWKER. "Beard." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Beard.html JOHN BOWKER. "Beard." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Beard.html |
|
beard
beard
•multi-layered
•beard, weird
•greybeard (US graybeard)
•bluebeard • Iliad • Olympiad • myriad
•period
•hamadryad, jeremiad, semi-retired, underwired, undesired, unexpired, uninspired
•coward, Howard, underpowered, unpowered
•froward
•leeward, steward
•gourd, Lourdes, self-assured, uncured, uninsured, unobscured, unsecured
•scabbard, tabard
•halberd • starboard
•unremembered • tribade • cupboard
•unencumbered, unnumbered
•good-natured, ill-natured
•Richard • pilchard • pochard • orchard
•unstructured • uncultured
•standard, sub-standard
•unconsidered • unhindered
•unordered • Stafford • Bradford
•Sandford, Sanford, Stanford
•Hartford, Hertford
•Bedford, Redford
•Telford • Wexford • Chelmsford
•Clifford • Pickford • Guildford
•Linford • Mitford • Hereford
•Longford • Oxford • Watford
•Crawford • Salford • Rutherford
•haggard, laggard
•niggard • unsugared • sluggard
•unmeasured • uninjured • tankard
•becard • bewhiskered • unconquered
•drunkard
|
|
|
Cite this article
"beard." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "beard." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-beard.html "beard." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-beard.html |
|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries:
HighBeam™ Research, Inc. © Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
The Encyclopedia.com advertising network includes:
