barber

barber
/bahr"beuhr/, n.
1. a person whose occupation it is to cut and dress the hair of customers, esp. men, and to shave or trim the beard.
2. See frost smoke (def. 1).
v.t.
3. to trim or dress the hair or beard of.
[1275-1325; ME barbour < AF; OF barbeor, equiv. to barb(e) ( < L barba beard) + -eor < L -ator- -ATOR]

* * *

(as used in expressions)
Barber Red
Walter Lanier Barber
Barber Samuel

* * *

      a person whose primary activities in the 20th century are trimming and styling the hair of men, shaving them, and shaping their beards, sideburns, and moustaches. Barbers, or hairdressers, often provide shampooing, manicuring, hair dying, permanent waves, and shoe polishing within their shops, or salons. See also hairdressing.

      The barbershop was a familiar institution in ancient Greece and Rome and then, as now, was a centre for the exchange of gossip and opinion. The more prosperous citizens, however, particularly in Rome, had household barbers. The great houses of ancient Egypt also had barbers among their retainers and offered the services of these as part of their hospitality to guests.

      For six centuries the barbers of Europe practiced surgery. This custom began with the papal decree of 1163 that forbade the clergy to shed blood. Monks were required to undergo bloodletting at regular intervals, and some of them had been performing this task, along with minor surgery. Now they turned these duties over to the barbers—familiar figures at the monasteries since 1092, when the clergy had been required to be clean-shaven. This arrangement was satisfactory to the medical doctors of the era, who considered that bloodletting was necessary but beneath their dignity. They were also glad to relegate to the barbers other physical tasks such as the lancing of abscesses and treatment of wounds. At the beginning of his career, Ambroise Paré (Paré, Ambroise), one of the great pioneers of surgery, was among those who gave shaves and haircuts for a living.

      In France a royal decree of 1383 declared that “the king's first barber and valet” was to be head of the barbers and surgeons of the kingdom, who had been organized in a guild in 1361. The barbers of London were first organized as a religious guild but were granted a charter as a trade guild in 1462 by King Edward IV. This guild was amalgamated with that of the surgeons in 1540 under a charter granted by Henry VIII, and the members of the joint corporation were accorded the right to be addressed as “Master”—colloquially, “Mister.” British surgeons still prefix their names with “Mr.” instead of “Dr.”

      The barber-surgeons were sometimes called “doctors of the short robe” to distinguish them from university-trained physicians and surgeons, whose superiority was apt to be only in their knowledge of Latin and their title of “doctor of the long robe.” In England the guild of surgeons was separated from that of barbers in 1745. The Royal College of Surgeons, however, did not receive its charter until 1800.

      The barber's trade was acquired only by a long apprenticeship until the 1890s, when schools for barbering were established.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Barber — (das englische Wort für Barbier) ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Amos W. Barber (1861–1915), US amerikanischer Politiker und Gouverneur von Wyoming Andrea Barber (* 1976), US amerikanische Schauspielerin Anthony Barber, Baron Barber… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • barber — [ barbe ] v. tr. <conjug. : 1> • 1882; « raser » 1600; de 1. barbe (3o) ♦ Fam. Ennuyer. ⇒ assommer, raser. Cela me barbe d y aller. Vous le barbez avec vos histoires. ♢ Pronom. SE BARBER : s ennuyer. On s est barbé toute la journée. ⇒ se… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • BARBER (S.) — BARBER SAMUEL (1910 1981) Compositeur américain né à West Chester (Pennsylvanie), Samuel Barber reçoit très tôt une formation de pianiste et d’organiste avant d’étudier au Curtis Institute de Philadelphie (1924 1932) avec Rosario Scalero,… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Barber — Bar ber (b[aum]r b[ e]r), n. [OE. barbour, OF. barbeor, F. barbier, as if fr. an assumed L. barbator, fr. barba beard. See 1st {Barb}.] One whose occupation it is to shave or trim the beard, and to cut and dress the hair of his patrons. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Barber — Barber, Samuel * * * (as used in expressions) Barber, Red Walter Lanier Barber Barber, Samuel …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Barber —   [ bɑːbə],    1) Chris, eigentlich Donald Christopher Barber, britischer Jazzposaunist und Bandleader, * Welwyn Garden City 17. 4. 1930. Seine 1953 gegründete Band gehörte bis Anfang der 60er Jahre zu den erfolgreichsten Formationen des… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • barber — [bär′bər] n. [ME & OFr barbour; ult. < ML barbator < L barba,BEARD] a person whose work is cutting hair, shaving and trimming beards, etc. vt. to cut the hair of, shave, etc. vi. to work as a barber …   English World dictionary

  • Barber — Bar ber, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Barbered} (b[aum]r b[ e]rd); p. pr. & vb. n. {Barbering}.] To shave and dress the beard or hair of. Shak. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Barber — Bar ber, n. (Meteor.) 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. [Canada] [Webster 1913 Suppl.] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Barber — Barber, 1) (Jagdw.), so v.w. Barbet; 2) (Pferdew.), so v.w. Berber …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Bärber — Bärber, Volk, so v.w. Barabra …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”