Definition of haberdasher
1
British
:a dealer in notions
2
:a dealer in men's clothing and accessories
-
Trending Now:
More Trending:
- dotage, dotard otherwise federalism bodega carceral
- ALL
What's Trending Now
More Trending Words
Explore M-W
haberdasher was our Word of the Day on 01/08/2017. Hear the podcast!
Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP
Recent Examples of haberdasher from the Web
-
At he back of Schaeffers Garment Hotel is Gunner Foxx’s House of Hats, where third-generation haberdasher Gunner Foxx provides cleaning services as well as repairs and alterations (blocking, stretching, reshaping, resizing, and band replacement).
-
Graunt, born on this day in 1620, was a London haberdasher who was the first to start putting together the information about how people died in the city to help gain a broader understanding of the causes of death and how people lived.
-
Nathan Irving Hentoff was born in Boston on June 10, 1925, to Jewish immigrants from Russia, and his father supported the family as a haberdasher and a traveling salesman.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'haberdasher.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
At various times throughout its history, the term "haberdasher" has referred to a dealer of hats or caps, a seller of notions (sewing supplies such as needles and thimbles), and apparently (perhaps somewhat coyly) as a person who sells liquor. Nowadays, with hats not being as fashionable as they once were, the word mostly is applied generally as a clothing outfitter for men, with "haberdashery" referring to the establishment or the goods sold there. Haberdasher derives via Middle English from "hapertas," an Anglo-French word for a kind of cloth, as does the obsolete noun "haberdash," which once meant petty merchandise or small wares.
Origin and Etymology of haberdasher
Middle English haberdassher, from modification of Anglo-French hapertas kind of cloth
HABERDASHER Defined for English Language Learners
haberdasher
play
noun
Definition of haberdasher for English Language Learners
-
: a person who owns or works in a shop that sells men's clothes
-
: a person who owns or works in a shop that sells small items (such as needles and thread) that are used to make clothes
Learn More about haberdasher
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up haberdasher? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
