Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun One whose business is to cut hair, usually of men and boys, and shave or trim beards.
  • transitive verb To cut (the hair of someone).
  • transitive verb To shave or trim (the beard of someone).

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun One whose occupation is to shave the beard and cut and dress the hair.
  • noun Same as surgeon-fish.
  • To shave and dress the hair of.
  • noun A gale of wind with damp snow or sleet and spray that freezes upon every object, especially the beard and hair. Said to be called berber by wharfmen in New York.
  • noun A fish, Cæsioperca rasor, of the family Serranidæ. Also called red perch.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun One whose occupation it is to shave or trim the beard, and to cut and dress the hair of his patrons.
  • noun See under Itch.
  • transitive verb To shave and dress the beard or hair of.
  • noun (Meteor.), Canada A storm accompanied by driving ice spicules formed from sea water, esp. one occurring on the Gulf of St. Lawrence; -- so named from the cutting ice spicules.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A person whose profession is cutting (usually male) customers’ hair and beards.
  • noun A barber surgeon, a foot soldier specializing in treating battlefield injuries.
  • verb To cut the hair or beard of (a person).
  • verb US, slang To chatter, talk.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb perform the services of a barber: cut the hair and/or beard of
  • noun United States composer (1910-1981)
  • noun a hairdresser who cuts hair and shaves beards as a trade

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old French barbour, from Medieval Latin barbātōr, from Latin barba, beard; see bhardh-ā- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Anglo-Norman barbour, from Old French barbeor, from Latin barba.

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Examples

  • The man with the shears eschews the term barber, preferring either artist or sculptor, but his role at Truth and Soul Black Stars is even more expansive: adviser, storyteller, protector, father figure to fatherless youths, friend.

    chicagotribune.com - 2010

  • I wonder, too, whether these lumbering uses of the term barber originally had any connection with the notion of poor cutting; the connotations of barber in informal speech have not always been the most favorable.

    VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol II No 4 1976

  • Another statesman came into the shop and said, Hello, Sir John, I guess the barber is the only man in Canada that can have you by the nose?

    Sir John A. MacDonald, Empire Builder 1915

  • For me, the ideal barber is the one who doesn't talk and the ideal accommodation is clean, comfortable and anonymous.

    Steve Poses: On the Road: Farm Stands of the Hudson River Valley, NY Steve Poses 2010

  • I went to bathe and a bit of hair fell out, and last night we called the barber, Chávez told politicians during a swearing-in ceremony for new cabinet ministers.

    Hugo Chávez shows off new haircut 2011

  • If any barber is good enough to shave your neck, and then I am, too.

    CHAPTER V 2010

  • There will be Barack portraits hanging in barber shops in Milwaukee, Birmingham and Bozeman, as well as Tokyo and Buenos Aires, perhaps even Cairo and Jakarta.

    Scripting News for 6/8/2008 « Scripting News Annex 2008

  • When I called the barber shop, they told me that in addition to Landry, their clients have included siblings of Clinton Portis and Fred Davis, and that all three players and many more have their photos hanging on the wall.

    LaRon Landry's barbershop celebration 2010

  • Compared to full salon haircuts, having a buzz cut at the barber is inexpensive: $10 to $25 depending on the neighbourhood.

    Hands-on Review: Philips Hair Clipper | Sync Blog 2007

  • I called the barber in question, Joe Tourrenoueva, who has been my barber for 40 years, since way back when he charged $20.

    Norman Lear: Bullshit Trouble in River City 2008

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    August 8, 2008