What does "pare" mean?

Pare: To remove; to separate; to cut or shave, as the skin, ring, or outside part, from anything; -- followed by off or away; as; to pare off the ring of fruit; to pare away redundancies.

Additional senses

  1. 2.Fig.: To diminish the bulk of; to reduce; to lessen. The king began to pare a little the privilege of clergy. Bacon.

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