barbering

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noun

The trade of and practice of shaving and cutting hair.

“The trades of barbering and surgery have long been linked, as evidenced by the barber's red and white striped pole.”

OriginEnglish barber ← Middle English barbour ← Anglo-Norman barbour →
UncommonScrabble 14
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Meanings

nounbarbering (uncountable)
  1. uncountableThe trade of and practice of shaving and cutting hair.

    The trades of barbering and surgery have long been linked, as evidenced by the barber's red and white striped pole.

    1 more example

    After several days in the bush, he had grown lax with his barbering and needed a good shave before he was presentable again.

  2. informaluncountableThe practice among pets of overgrooming each other, leaving bald patches.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰers-?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*bʰardʰéh₂
  3. Proto-Italic*farðā
  4. Latinbarba
  5. Old Frenchbarbe
  6. Anglo-Normanbarbour
  7. Middle Englishbarbour
  8. Englishbarber
  9. Englishbarbering

From barber + -ing.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Hebrew סַפָּרוּת
  • סַפָּרוּת (saparút)the trade of shaving and cutting hair
Latin tonstrīnum
  • tonstrīnumthe trade of shaving and cutting hair
Cite this entry
APA

barbering. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/barbering

MLA

“barbering.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/barbering. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “barbering,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/barbering.

Source: barbering on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.