haberdasher English · revision 1973

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈhæb.ə(ɹ)ˌdæʃ.ə(ɹ)/ ''(UK)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It comes from Middle English ''haberdassher'',^(MW Collegiate) probably an alteration of [[xno|hapertas|t=small wares]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) also the name of a kind of cloth,^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) a word of unknown origin.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A dealer in small articles of trade, such as thread, tape and ribbons (1311–12; as a surname, ''Haperdasser'', 1280).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A medieval haberdasher sold many small goods, including caps, purses, beads and thread,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and was also a dealer in or maker of hats and caps.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995) In British use the word still means a seller of sewing goods.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary) In American English, by 1886–1887, it had come to mean a dealer in men's clothing and accessories,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) probably through the intermediate sense of a seller of hats.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) ''Haberdashery'' is recorded from 1419.^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1280 – ''Haperdasser'', as a surname.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1311–12 – a dealer in small wares.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1419 – ''haberdashery''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1592 – figurative use.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1887 – US, a dealer in men's clothing.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A retailer of men's clothing and accessories, such as shirts, ties and hats.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(chiefly British)'' A dealer in sewing goods and small wares, such as thread, buttons and ribbons.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[haberdashery]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[haberdash]]

+ * [[milliner]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}