/ ˈhæbədæʃə(r); NAmE ˈhæbərd-/ noun
1.
( old-fashioned , BrE ) a person who owns or works in a shop / store selling small articles for sewing, for example, needles, pins, cotton and buttons
2.
hab·er·dash·er's ( pl. hab·er·dash·ers ) a shop / store that sells these things
3.
( NAmE ) a person who owns, manages or works in a shop / store that makes and sells men's clothes
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WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : probably based on Anglo-Norman French hapertas , perhaps the name of a fabric, of unknown origin. In early use the term denoted a dealer in a variety of household goods, later also specifically a hatter. Current senses date from the early 17th cent.