Banshee. From the Gaelic bean sidhe, woman fairy.
Bantam. A species of fowl said to have been introduced to Europe from Bantam in Java.
Banting. After William Banting, a London cabinetmaker, who in 1863 reduced his superfluous fat by a dietic system peculiarly his own.
Bar. In old days, when a counter did not obtain, and drinking vessels had to be set down on the benches or barrel ends, a bar separated the frequenters of a tavern from the drawers or tapsters. Similarly, at the Courts of Law the Bar was a rail behind which a barrister or counsel had to plead his client’s cause.
Barbadoes. From the streamers of moss, resembling a beard, suspended from the tree branches.
Barbarians. The name universally applied by the Romans to wandering or warlike tribes who were unkempt and unshaven.
Barbarossa. The sobriquet of Frederick the First of Germany, on account of his red beard.
Barbary. The land of the Berbers, the Arabic description of the people of this region prior to the Saracen Conquest.
Barber. From the Latin barba, a beard.
Barber-surgeons. Hairdressers who, down to the sixteenth century, also practised “cupping” or blood-letting, a relic of which is the modern Barber’s Pole. The red and white stripes around the pole denoted the bandages, while in place of the gilt knob at the end there originally hung the basin affixed under the chin of the patient operated upon.