The Barber, 1. in the Barbers-shop, 2. cutteth off the Hair and the Beard with a pair of Sizzars, 3. or shaveth with a Razor, which he taketh out of his Case, 4. │ Tōnsor, 1. in Tōnstrīnā, 2. tondet Crīnēs & Barbam Forcipe, 3. vel rādit Novāculā, quam dēprōmit ē Thēcā, 4.
[1]
tōnsor, tonsōris [3/m]: barber; also: tōnstrīx, tōnstrīcis
[3/f]: female barber / hair cutter; the term tonsorial parlour is
older English for a barber’s shop
tōnstrīna, -ae [1/f]: barber’s shop
ōrnātrīx, ōrnātrīcis [3/f]: hairdresser (female); there is a
masculine equivalent i.e. ōrnātor, ornatōris [3/m] meaning a “dresser” but it’s
very rare; the term does not refer to the cutting of hair, but to a slave who
dressed the hair of the mistress; Lewis and Short: a female “adorner”
Image #1: bas-relief of an ōrnātrīx (2nd century
AD)
The wealthy Romans paid a lot of attention to their appearance. The first image shows an ōrnātrīx, sometimes rather loosely translated as a 'hairdresser' but the term more accurately refers to a female slave who beautified and adorned their owners, working to create elaborate hairstyles, arranging clothing, jewelry, cosmetics, and perfumes, in fact anything to embellish their owners.
Image #2: the modest
little memorial to Gnome Pierinis, a slave girl (ancilla) who had the
special role of hairdresser (ōrnātrīx) to her mistress.
[2]
barba, -ae [1/f]:
beard
capillus, -ī
[2/m]: hair (specifically refers to hair of the head)
coma, -ae [1/f]: hair
of the head
crīnis, -is [3/m]:
hair
pīlus, -ī [2/m]:
hair
the nouns for hair
may appear in singular or plural forms:
odōrātīs humerōs
perfūsa capillīs (Ovid) │ with perfumed tresses overflowing
her shoulders
incultum cānō
solvent ā vertice crīnem (Catullus)
│ they will release their unkempt hair from their white head
… et praesectīs
omnium mulierum crīnibus tormenta effēcērunt (Caesar) │ they made ropes for their “engines”
(i.e. siege machines) with the hair cut off all the women’s heads
At vērō Aenēās
aspectū obmūtuit āmēns, arrēctaeque horrōre comae et vōx faucibus haesit
(Virgil) │ But indeed Aeneas stood speechless, distraught at the sight, and his
hair stood on end from horror and his voice halts in his throat.
Genus quoque vītī
est, quom [= cum] inter ¦ pilōs ¦ palpebrārum ¦ pedūculī nāscuntur (Celsus)
│ There is also a kind of disorder when lice are born between the eyelashes [=
the hairs ¦ of the eyelids]
Note: pīlus was
also used to refer to something insignificant, similar to English “I don’t care
a jot about that”
ego enim nē
pīlō quidem minus mē amābō (Cicero) │ for I shall not love myself even less
than one hair [ = by one little bit]
From: Harry
Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities
https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0062:entry=coma-harpers
“The hair of the
head. Besides this general term, there are various other words, both in Greek
and Latin, signifying the hair, each of which acquires its distinctive meaning
from some physical property of the hair itself or from some peculiarity in the
mode of arranging it”
There is a huge
amount of information at that link on Ancient Roman and Greek hairstyles,
together with words for specific styles e.g. capillāmentum, -ī [2/n]: wig
[image #3: from a bas-relief at Rome]
[3]
tondeō, -ēre,
totondī [2]: shave, clip, shear
rādō, -ere, rāsī
[3]: shave, scratch, scrape
[4]
forceps, forcipis
[3/m]: (Classical) a pair of tongs or pincers, hence the modern-day surgical
instrument
novacula, -ae
[1/f]: razor; sharp knife used for shaving
thēca, -ae [1/f]:
case, cover; Suetonius refers to calamāriae et graphiāriae thēcae, cases
for holding writing implements
Note: ablative of instrument
referring to the object which is used to perform the action
tondet crīnēs et
barbam forcipe │ he cuts the hair and beard with a pair of
scissors
vel rādit novāculā │ or shaves with (by means of) a razor
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