In the terminology of JA's time, is there a difference between "whiskers" and "beard"? I once assumed that they were the same thing, but now I am not so sure. I have a suspicion that "whiskers" refers specifically to the luxuriant sideburns in fashion in that period. But of course the term "sideburns" to describe that particular portion of facial hair in front of the ears supposedly originated during the American Civil War, so it's a more recent term.

I checked the archives, and couldn't find anything on this (admittedly frivolous) topic.