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Origin and history of barber

barber(n.)

"one whose occupation is to shave the beard and cut and dress the hair," c. 1300, from Anglo-French barbour (attested as a surname from early 13c.), from Old French barbeor, barbieor (13c., Modern French barbier, which has a more restricted sense than the English word), from Vulgar Latin *barbatorem, from Latin barba "beard" (see barb (n.)).

Originally also regular practitioners of minor surgery, they were restricted to hair-cutting, blood-letting, and dentistry under Henry VIII. The barber's pole (1680s) is in imitation of the ribbon used to bind the arm of one who has been bled.

also from c. 1300

barber(v.)

"to shave and dress the hair," c.1600, from barber (n.). Related: Barbered; barbering.

also from c.1600

Entries linking to barber

barb(n.)

late 14c., "barb of an arrow," from Old French barbe "beard, beard-like appendage" (11c.), from Latin barba "beard," from Proto-Italic *farfa- "beard," which might be from a common PIE root *bhardhā- "beard" (source also of Old Church Slavonic brada, Russia boroda, Lithuanian barzda, Old Prussian bordus), but according to de Vaan the vowel "rather points to a non-IE borrowing into the European languages."

barber-shop(n.)

also barbershop, 1570s, from barber + shop (n.). Earlier in same sense was barbery (c. 1500). Barber-shop in reference to close harmony male vocal quartets is attested from 1910; the custom of barbers keeping a musical instrument in their shops so waiting customers could entertain themselves is an old one, but the musical product formerly had a low reputation and barber's music (c. 1660) was "wretched, poorly performed music."

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