barber
/ˈbɑːbə
/noun
A person who cuts men’s hair and shaves or trims beards as an occupation: he had his hair cut at the local barber’s...
- Three local men have volunteered to have their beards shaved by a female barber all the way from Seville.
- Once you get hooked on composting, you'll even start going after the local barber for hair, and even saving dryer lint!
- Come Monday he would have his hair cut and take a post-weekend shave at the in-house barbers.
verb [with object]
Cut or trim (a man’s hair): his hair was neatly barbered...
- She has 17 years barbering experience and is fully qualified in all aspects of the trade.
- James Rexroad Fast friends: At home in the Elite mansion, a newly barbered Sammy watches his housemates take a turn.
- It passed over the sleekly barbered lawns and slightly ruffled the neat rows of asters and cannas.
Origin
Middle English: via Anglo-Norman French from Old French barbe (see barb1).
The word barber goes back to French barbe, ‘a beard’. In the 16th and 17th centuries barbers provided lute or guitar music for customers waiting their turn. Some would sing along. This barber's music was not always pleasant to listen to, and the term was quite insulting. In America standards seem to have been higher: the term barbershop for close-harmony singing is first recorded in the early 20th century.