word-forming element from Greek pōgōn "the beard," which is of unexplained origin. Used in Pogonophile (by 1961); pogonophobia (1852).

late 14c., "to curl, to twist into short, stiff waves or ringlets" (of the hair, beard, mane, etc.) from crisp (adj.) or else from Old French crespir, Latin crispare, from the adjectives. Meaning "to become brittle" is from 1805. Related: Crisped; crisping; crispation.

1867, Dundreary whiskers, long, bushy sideburns without a beard, resembling those worn by actor E.A. Sothern (1826-1881) while playing Lord Dundreary, the witless, indolent character in English dramatist Tom Taylor's play "Our American Cousin" (1858).

"one whose occupation is to shave the beard and cut and dress the hair," c. 1300, from Anglo-French barbour (attested as a surname from early 13c.), from Old French barbeor, barbieor (13c., Modern French barbier, which has a more restricted sense than the English word), from Vulgar Latin *barbatorem, from Latin barba "beard" (see barb (n.)).

Originally also regular practitioners of minor surgery, they were restricted to hair-cutting, blood-letting, and dentistry under Henry VIII. The barber's pole (1680s) is in imitation of the ribbon used to bind the arm of one who has been bled.