Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
shaveling. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
shaveling, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
shaveling in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
shaveling you have here. The definition of the word
shaveling will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
shaveling, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
From shave + -ling.
Noun
shaveling (plural shavelings)
- (often derogatory) Someone with all or part of their head shaved, notably a tonsured clergyman; a priest or monk.
1866, Charles Kingsley, Hereward the Wake, London: Nelson, page 48:“Bonny times,” he said, “I have lived to see, when a lad of Earl Oslac’s blood is sent out of the land, a beggar and a wolf’s head, for playing a boy’s trick or two, and upsetting a shaveling priest.”
- A shaver, stripling, young man physically mature enough to shave.
Translations
someone with their head shaved
References