the.com/paring knife

means A small, short-bladed kitchen knife used for peeling, trimming, and other precise close-up cutting rather than heavy chopping.

from From the verb 'pare,' meaning to trim away the outer layer of something — peeling an apple, shaving down a surface. 'Pare' traces back through Old French 'parer' (to prepare, arrange, trim) to Latin 'parare,' meaning to prepare or make ready. So the knife is named, quite literally, for the job it does: paring things down, one thin slice at a time.