beard

Beards

Beards

When 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 (76138 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. 285337 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 INFORMATION

Batterberry, 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.

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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.

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"beard." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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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.

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W. R. F. BROWNING. "beard." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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Beards

37. Beards

See also 149. FACIAL FEATURES ; 193. HAIR .

pogoniasis
Medicine. 1. an excessive growth of beard.
2. the development of a beard by a woman.
pogonology
a treatise on beards. pogonologist, n.
pogonophile
an admirer of beards; a student of beards.
pogonophobia
an abnormal fear or dislike of beards.
pogonotomy
the cutting of beards.
pogonotrophy
the cultivation of beards, beard-growing.
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"Beards." -Ologies and -Isms. 1986. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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beard

beard OE. beard = OHG., G. bart :- WGmc. *barǒa, rel. to OSl. brada beard (Russ. borodá), L. barba.

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T. F. HOAD. "beard." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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Beard

Beard: see HAIR.

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JOHN BOWKER. "Beard." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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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

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"beard." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

Do beards grow on you? At the start of National Beard Week, Adrian Butler...
Newspaper article from: Daily Post (Liverpool, England); 6/29/2005
Beard overcomes hairy start to prosper at BU.(Sports)(College Basketball)
Newspaper article from: The Washington Times (Washington, DC); 11/25/1997
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Newspaper article from: Daily Mail (London); 9/22/1999

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