The Confusing History of Haberdashery

Hello,

Haberdashery is one of my favourite words so I was surprised to find I hadn’t explored its history here. I was even more surprised when I discovered it’s one of the words which illustrates how Britain and America are “two countries separated by the same language” (don’t ask who said it, might be Irishman George Bernard Shaw in 1942, but opinions differ).

Merriam-Webster (and other sources) inform me that a haberdashery sells men’s clothing and accessories. Its secondary definition mentions selling notions which is further defined as thread and small useful items. So that’s the American English version of haberdashery.

As an Irishwoman I enjoy that definition of notions. Here it’s slang for somebody having ideas above their station and it is quite the killer put-down. For example, “Did you see Mrs Murphy down the street with her fancy designer handbag? Pure notions.”

The Cambridge Dictionary (and Oxford etc) explain that haberdashery sells the pins, thread, fabric etc. for sewing. This is the British English version and is also used in Ireland where I live. In fact, once upon a time when Wordfoolery was 18, she worked in a haberdashery department on the main shopping street in Dublin and was expert at advising crafters on which little item they needed to complete their projects.

Buttons – my favourite haberdashery item

More recently I inherited my mother’s extensive selection of haberdashery, all carefully stored in old biscuit (cookies for American readers) tins from Christmas Past – because to buy fancy biscuits in tins at any other time of the year would be to have notions.

Let’s not argue over the correct definition – what about the history of haberdashery?

Haberdashery joined English in the 1400s to describe goods sold by a haberdasher. The idea of a haberdashery shop didn’t arise until the early 1800s.

Haberdasher, however, is a much older word. It appears in Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales”, for example, which he wrote in the 1380s and 1390s. It was originally used as a surname in the 1200s. Many old surnames describe the jobs people did such as Miller, Smith, and Baker.

Shortly thereafter (early 1300s) haberdasher was recorded as a seller of “small articles of trade” such as caps, purses, beads, thread, and stationery. I love this definition as it’s my modern version of haberdashery plus two other things I love – hats and stationery. This would be an amazing shop to visit.

Haberdasher came from the Anglo-French (brought over by the Normans) word hapertas (small wares and also a type of fabric). Its origins before that point are sadly unknown.

The transition to the American English meaning (dealing in men’s wares) happened in the late 1800s via the idea of a cap-seller.

Technically to haberdash is a verb, since the 1600s, but it’s very rare. I guess I used to haberdash back when I worked in that shop.

Grace (@Wordfoolery) – currently on 18,025 words of my 32,000 writing target for November 2024

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