Why is a paring knife called a paring knife?

What is this "paring" that the knife will be used for? The Word is closely related to "prepare", it comes from Old French parer "arrange, prepare, trim", from Latin parare "make ready". So a paring knife is a knife used to trim, peel, core, vegetables, fruits, and small cuts of meat. The paring knife is a small thin knife with a very fine point, a thin cross-section, and a sharp narrow blade for doing fine work.