haberdasher

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(hăb'ər-dăsh'ər) pronunciation
n.
  1. A dealer in men's furnishings.
  2. Chiefly British. A dealer in sewing notions and small wares.

[Middle English, perhaps from Anglo-Norman hapertas, petty wares.]


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A haberdashery in Brussels

A haberdasher is a person who sells small articles for sewing, such as buttons, ribbons, zips, and other notions.[1] In American English, haberdasher is another term for a men's outfitter.[2] A haberdasher's shop or the items sold therein are called haberdashery.

Contents

Origin and use

The word appears in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.[citation needed] Haberdashers were initially peddlers, sellers of small items such as needles, buttons, etc. The word could derive from the an Old Norse word akin to the Icelandic haprtask, which means peddlers' wares or the sack in which the peddler carried them. If this is the case, a haberdasher (in its Scandinavian meaning) would be very close to a mercer (French). Perhaps more likely, since the word has no recorded use in Scandinavia, it is from Anglo-Norman hapertas, meaning small ware.[3] A haberdasher would retail small wares, the goods of the peddler, while a mercer would specialize in "linens, silks, fustian, worsted piece-goods and bedding".[4]

Saint Louis IX, the King of France 1226–70, is the patron saint of haberdashers in France.[5][6] In Belgium and other places in Continental Europe, it is Saint Nicholas, while in the City of London the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers adopted Saint Catherine as the patron saint of the guild.[7]

Notable haberdashers

See also

References

  1. ^ Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, 1989: "A dealer in small articles appertaining to dress, as thread, tape, ribbons, etc.
  2. ^ Collins Dictionary of the English Language (1979)
  3. ^ http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=haberdasher
  4. ^ Sutton, Anne F. (2005). The Mercery of London: Trade, Goods and People, 1130-1578, p.118. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 0-7546-5331-5
  5. ^ Catholic Culture, St. Louis IX
  6. ^ Patron Saints Index
  7. ^ [1]
  8. ^ NOVA #1001

Translations:

Haberdasher

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - sy- og besætningsartikler, herreekvipering, herrelingeri

Nederlands (Dutch)
fournituren- handelaar, verkoper van herenmode

Français (French)
n. - (GB) mercier, (US) marchand de vêtements pour homme

Deutsch (German)
n. - Kurzwarenhändler, Herrenausstatter

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - έμπορος ψιλικών (κν. ψιλικατζής)

Italiano (Italian)
merciaio

Português (Portuguese)
n. - dono (m) do armarinho, armarinheiro (m)

Русский (Russian)
галантерейщик

Español (Spanish)
n. - vendedor de prendas para caballero, mercero, camisero

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - sybehörshandlare, kortvaruhandlare, innehavare av herrekipering

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
男子服饰经售商, 杂货商人

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 男子服飾經售商, 雜貨商人

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 신사용 양품 장수, 잡화 상인

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 男性用服飾品商人, 小間物商人

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) بائع السلع الصغيرة كالأزرار والأبر, بائع السلع الرجاليه كالقمصان وأربطه العنق والقفافير‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮מוכר בגדי גברים, מוכר מיני סדקית‬


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Hackler (family name)
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Haberdasher [Single] (1997 Album by Haberdasher)