Sideburns

[curiosity]

Why are Side burns called Side burns? Was there a man called Burns or something? Question from my 5 year old.

[Kingaroo]

After an american civil war general named Burnside -- I bet you could find a nice illustration if you googled his name. Or wait for Tatty Rollox to post one....

[Clanad]

From Word Origins:

Sideburns are whiskers that are worn on the sides of a man's face, especially when the beard on the chin is shaved. The term is an alteration of the name of General A.E. Burnside (1824-81), a Union general in the US Civil War more famed for his whiskers than his abilities on the battlefield.

The term burnsides, referring to a style of whiskers worn by the general consisting of mutton-chop whiskers on the sides of the face, a moustache, and a clean-shaven chin, occurs as early as 1881. The alteration sideburns, referring just to the side whiskers, appears in 1887.

Picture here:

http://www.mcmahanphoto.com/prco-civilwar.html

(Scroll almost to the bottom)

[SteveD]

We used to call them sideboards when I was young. Was that completely wrong or is it another version of the same thing? Sideburns always sounds American to me.

[Grunty]

We always called them sideboards as well, Steve. I think it began as a jocular adaptation of the other word. Eventually people just forgot that they were once called sideburns. (In the part of the country where I lived anyway).

[MsBadely]

My husband calls them sideboards, which is of course ridiculous, as a sideboard is a large piece of furniture.

[geo0939]

MsBadely: Could this be confused with a large, mostly wooden, object, that stands in the corner of the bedroom?

[SteveD]

Where are you originally from, Grunty? I was dragged up in Luton. Maybe the correct way to write it would be "side-boards" which would give an image of a wooden plank rather than a large piece of furniture (or anything else standing woodenly in the corner of a bedroom).

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