Etymologically
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haircut

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈhɛə(ɹ)kʌt/[1]

Etymology

It is a compound of hair and cut, in the sense of the noun cut.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

An act of cutting a person's hair: 1848, in an advertisement in the Wheeling Times & Advertiser of West Virginia.[2] Etymonline dates it to 1887,[3] Dictionary.com to 1895–1900 and Merriam-Webster to 1899.[4][5]

Semantic evolution

The style in which hair is cut is recorded from 1895 in the OED, by 1890 in Etymonline;[2][3] the OED compares the earlier word hairstyle.[2] From 1897 the word was used loosely for trimming the top of something, such as a lawn or hedge, or damaging it;[2] the same book of that year has a sailors' haircut for a blow over the head.[6] In American Black slang of the 1940s a haircut was a week, from the habit of a weekly haircut,[6] and in 1960s drug slang it was a name for marijuana.[6] A barber's customer could be called a haircut from 1923.[2] In finance, from 1955, a haircut is a reduction in the value set on an asset, reflecting the risk that it may fall in value;[2][7] the word is now also used for a loss accepted by creditors.[2]

Timeline

  • 1848 – an act of cutting someone's hair.[2]
  • 1895 – the style in which hair is cut.[2]
  • 1897 – trimming the top of something; a blow over the head.[2][6]
  • 1923 – a barber's customer.[2]
  • 1944 – a week (US Black slang).[6]
  • 1955 – a reduction in the valuation of an asset (finance).[2]
  • 1969 – marijuana (US drug slang).[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. An act of cutting someone's hair: He goes to the barber for a haircut every month.
  2. The style in which someone's hair is cut; a hairstyle.
  3. (finance) A cut in the value set on an asset, to allow for the risk that its price may fall; more generally, a loss that creditors or investors agree to accept.

Word family

  • haircutter
  • haircutting

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
  7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins