Pare

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /pɛə/

Definitions

1. To cut away the outer layer or skin from something, especially fruit or vegetables ; to diminish or reduce something in size, amount, or extent gradually
2. To remove the outer covering of an object by slicing thin pieces off ; to lessen or scale back something bit by bit
3. To strip off the exterior surface usually with a blade ; to cut down or trim something progressively in quantity or scope

Etymology: Before it meant trimming fruit or shaving nails, "pare" carried the sense of getting ready. The Latin verb "parare" meant "to prepare, arrange, provide," and it is closely related to "parere," "to bring forth," so the same ancestral root sits behind both ideas of producing and making ready. Over time, French turned it into "parer," meaning to arrange or trim, and that is the form that reached Middle English as "paren." The trimming sense came through the idea of making something ready by cutting away what was unwanted. Preparing food meant removing its outer layer, and a thing made neat was a thing whose rough edges had been taken off. From there, the word stretched to cover any gradual reduction: a budget can be pared down, or a list pared to essentials, one small cut at a time.

Synonyms: trim, shave, cut, reduce, whittle

Antonyms: add, increase, expand, enlarge, grow