We get the word sideburn from the surname of General Burnside of the American Army during the Civil War. He was known for his impressive side whiskers. Watch the full story.


Video #51
Episode title: Names that became words: Sideburn

He gave his name to a facial hairstyle and a gun – though in the former case, it was back to front!

Super: Ambrose Everett Burnside (1824 – 1881)

Ambrose Everett Burnside was a Rhode Island senator and a Union Army general in the American Civil War. By his own admission he was a poor military commander, associated with spectacular defeats in battle Yet, President Lincoln not only kept him on in the army, but promoted him too.

Super: Famed for his personality, gun and side whiskers

Perhaps the president was influenced by Burnside’s likeable personality, the gun he invented and his legendary side whiskers. The general is said to have always had a smile on his face and a knack for remembering people’s names.

Super: Burnside Carbine

The gun he designed and patented – the Burnside Carbine – was widely used in the Civil War. Which brings us to his third and most enduring claim to fame: Lending his name to facial hair.

Sideburns are the strips of hair that come down the sides of a man’s face, from the hairline just above the ears to the area just below the ears. When they extend further down towards the chin, they become classified as a beard. Burnside’s luxuriant sideburns were connected to his moustache. His chin was clean-shaven.

Super: Side whiskers or sideboards

Before Burnside’s sideburns became famous, this section of facial hair was called side whiskers or sideboards.

Super: Mutton chops

Or, if they were particularly thick, like the general’s, they were termed mutton chops—presumably because they resembled said cuts of meat. My sideburns are, of course, far less impressive!

Super: The Evening Telegraph,

Philadelphia, USA, May 18, 1866



Super: Burnside ~ Sideburn

The Evening Telegraph, May 1866, has the earliest mention in print of Burnside’s hairy legacy: It was referred to as "Burnside whiskers.” In the 8170s and 80s, people started calling whiskers burnsides but by 1887, the syllables were switched and burnside became sideburn, placing ‘side’ in first position, perhaps to emphasise the word’s association with the side of the face.

Super: 19th century fashion

Although sideburns had been around for hundreds of years, they came into their own in the 19th century. The trend started with European military men who were inspired by the Hussar regiments, known for their impressive side whiskers.

During World War I, though, soldiers had to be clean-shaven on the sides and chin to wear gas masks. This meant that they could still have moustaches, but beards and sideburns had to go.

Super: Elvis Presley, James Dean and rebellion

A neater version of sideburns became fashionable again, this time among the civilian population, in the mid-20th century. These were popularised by the likes of Elvis Presley and James Dean. Though now, in contrast with the earlier military fashion, sideburns became a sign of rebellion.

Super: Wolverine

In the 21st century, big sideburns made a comeback with the series of films based on the comic book superhero Wolverine, played onscreen by Australian actor Hugh Jackman.

Super: Redcoats and flintlocks

An alternative theory about the etymology of ‘sideburn’ is linked to the British soldiers known as Redcoats. They used a firearm called the flintlock. When it was fired, gun powder sprayed out of it causing burns on the side of the face. The soldiers were perhaps encouraged to grow side whiskers as a measure of protection against the burns and also to hide the burn marks. Supporters of this claim find it more plausible than the logic that the syllables of burnside were flipped to give us the word ‘sideburn’.

You decide which story is more plausible. I’m The English Nut. Bye for now.

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