barber

A2 Topic:People & Society

US /ˈbɑɹ.bɚ/ UK /ˈbɑː.bə/ See IPA manual

Freq #7522

Meanings

1

noun
A person whose job is cutting men's hair and shaving or trimming beards.

I go to the barber once a month for a haircut.
2

verb
To cut someone's hair or trim their beard.

He barbered the old man's hair with careful, steady hands.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a person whose job is... haircutter hairdresser

Word family

Forms barberedbarberingbarbers

Derived forms barber-chairbarber-polebarber-surgeonbarberessbarberfishbarberishbarberlybarbermongerbarberpolebarbershopunbarbered

Related forms barb barbule

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

barber chair
an adjustable chair used to seat someone having a haircut

Noun + noun

Proverbs (1)

See all

Don't ask a barber if you need a haircut

Simplified etymology

Barber entered English in the Middle English period and goes back to French barbe, meaning “beard.”

Etymology

PIE word *bʰardʰéh₂ From Middle English barbour, from Anglo-Norman barbour, from Old French barbeor, from barbe (“beard”), from Latin barba.

barbour Middle English barbeor Old French barba Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

External links

# barber

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈbɑɹ.bɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈbɑː.bə/
**Frequency rank:** 7522

## Meanings
1. A person whose job is cutting men's hair and shaving or trimming beards.
2. To cut someone's hair or trim their beard.

## Examples
- I go to the barber once a month for a haircut.
- He barbered the old man's hair with careful, steady hands.

## Derived Forms
- barber-chair
- barber-pole
- barber-surgeon
- barberess
- barberfish
- barberish
- barberly
- barbermonger
- barberpole
- barbershop
- unbarbered

## Related Forms
- barb
- barbule

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: barbour
- Root: barbeor
- Root: barba

## Etymology
PIE word *bʰardʰéh₂ From Middle English barbour, from Anglo-Norman barbour, from Old French barbeor, from barbe (“beard”), from Latin barba.

## AI Etymology
Barber comes from Middle English barbour, from Anglo-Norman barbour, from Old French barbeor, from barbe (“beard”), from Latin barba.

## Topics
- People & Society

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