haberdasher

noun hab·er·dash·er \ ˈha-bər-ˌda-shər , ˈha-bə- \

|Updated on: 19 Jul 2018

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of haberdasher

1 British : a dealer in notions

2 : a dealer in men's clothing and accessories

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Recent Examples of haberdasher from the Web

Boys came to buy their first suit at the haberdasher, and teenage girls could get their shoes dyed to match the color of their prom dress.

— michael corkery, New York Times, "A Macy’s Goes From Mall Mainstay to Homeless Shelter," 13 June 2018
The living room’s bookcases were once used by a haberdasher in Porto, Portugal.

— j. s. marcus, WSJ, "A Fashionable Couple Remakes Madrid Mill into Mansion," 30 May 2018
Founded in 1977 by Michael Drake, the East London haberdasher is renowned for their high-quality shirts and ties.

— scott christian, Esquire, "7 Pieces Where You Can Feel the Hand of the Maker," 23 Oct. 2017
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.

— kat eschner, Smithsonian, "People Have Been Using Big Data Since the 1600s," 24 Apr. 2017
With separate shops for men and women, Barcelona's most exclusive haberdashers hand-stitch practically every garment.

— andrew ferren, ELLE Decor, "ELLE DECOR Goes to Barcelona," 4 Apr. 2011
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).

— marielle wakim, Los Angeles Magazine, "Best of LA: 92 of Our Favorite Things to Eat, Do, and Buy Right Now," 14 July 2017
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.

— the washington post, The Denver Post, "Nat Hentoff, journalist who wrote on jazz and civil liberties, dies at 91," 8 Jan. 2017
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.

— kat eschner, Smithsonian, "People Have Been Using Big Data Since the 1600s," 24 Apr. 2017

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

Other Job Terms

factotum, milliner, ostler, scrivener, tinker, webster, wordsmith

HABERDASHER Defined for English Language Learners

haberdasher

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