α. 1500s barbours shoppe, 1500s–1700s barbers shop, 1600s– barber's shop Brit. /ˈbɑːbəz ˌʃɒp/, U.S. /ˈbɑrbərz ˌʃɑp/.
β. see barber n. and shop n.
barbershopn.
/ˈbɑːbəʃɒp/, U.S. /ˈbɑrbərˌʃɑp/ 1. The establishment where a barber works.barber's shop is the more common form in British English; but cf. also barber n. 1b.
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the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > places for styling hair > [noun]
barberyc1440
clipping-house1483
barbershop1579
toilet club1855
1510 J. Stanbridge Vocabula (new ed.) sig. C.iiv Tonstrina, a barbours shoppe.
1579 W. Fulke Heskins Parl. Repealed in D. Heskins Ouerthrowne 30 Alehouses and Barbar-shops.
1696 tr. J. Dumont New Voy. Levant 302 In the Heat of their Rage they met three Mariners of Provence coming out of a Barber's Shop.
1748 T. Smollett Roderick Random I. viii. 49 Stepping into a barber's shop to be shaved.
1829 J. P. Kennedy Swallow Barn Introd. Ep. 8 A thorough going violin..in an illuminated barber shop.
1869 ‘M. Twain’ Innocents Abroad xii. 113 We hunted for a barber-shop.
1916 W. A. Du Puy Uncle Sam, Detective 55 His dark locks breathed forth odors of the lotions of cheap barber shops.
1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 5 Feb. 26/9 (advt.) Barber shop wanted to buy.
1994 New Scientist 24 Dec. 59/2 In the 1920s, a version of this apparatus..began to make its appearance in barber's shops as a way of treating minor ailments, including bald patches and dandruff.
2017 Times of India (Nexis) 24 Oct. My younger brother went to a barbershop for a shave.
2. Music (originally U.S.). Singing in the barbershop style (see Compounds); barbershop music.
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1944 Sat. Evening Post 19 Aug. 14/3 Devotees of barbershop maintain it is an authentic and peculiarly American art form.
1981 Associated Press (Nexis) 21 Jan. I've always said that no one can listen to barbershop and not smile.
2008 Daily Gleaner (New Brunswick) (Nexis) 11 Nov. c4 The event will include opera, barbershop and jazz.
Compounds
Music (originally U.S.). As a modifier. Designating a style of close harmony singing, often characterized by consonant, four-part harmony and frequent use of dominant seventh chords, and typically for four male voices without instrumental accompaniment; relating to, characterized by, or singing in this style, as barbershop quartet, barbershop music, barbershop ensemble, etc.The origins of the style have been much debated; a direct connection with the earlier tradition of amateur music making in barber's shops (see barber's music n. at barber n. Compounds 2) has not been established. For a discussion of the tradition of informal quartet singing among African Americans, and the relationship of this to barbershop singing, see L. Abbott in American Music (1992) 10 289–325.In quot. 1887 used in the name of a particular ensemble, who may have performed in this style.
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society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > harmony or sounds in combination > [adjective] > other kinds of harmony
monodic1806
diaphonic1822
paraphonic1836
monophonic1852
homophonic1879
barbershop1910
quartal1937
1887 Sunday Inter Ocean (Chicago) 15 May 16/7 (advt.) To-night. Hooley's Theater. All this week... The Barber Shop Quartet.
1892 Buffalo (N.Y.) Enquirer 20 Sept. 5/5 The Bison City Quartette can ring in more ‘barber shop chords’ in an ordinary composition than any other quartette on the stage.
1912 W. Stevens Let. 26 Aug. (1967) 177 It was a chorus of barber-shop harmonies.
1926 H. C. Witwer Roughly Speaking 302 The barber shop quartette harmonizers and moonlight necking parties on the boat deck.
1956 A. Huxley Adonis & Alphabet 90 That brass band, those mandolins and barber-shop ensembles.
1966 Crescendo Nov. 13/2 Those guys play what they call a barbershop harmony.
1980 Argus (Rock Island, Illinois) June 1 12/1 The first concert this year will be an evening of barbershop music.
2021 Manhattan (Kansas) Mercury (Nexis) 29 June The multipart harmonies of a barbershop quartet are unlike any other type of music.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2022).
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