barbarian
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Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
barbarian
- /bɑː(ɹ)ˈbɛə.ɹi.ən/ UK
- /bɑɹˈbɛəɹ.i.ən/ US
Rhymes with -ɛəɹiən
Where it comes from
Etymology tree
Ancient Greek βάρβαρος (bárbaros)bor.
Latin barbarus
Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós
Proto-Italic *-ijos
Proto-Italic *-ios
Old Latin -ios
Latin -ius
Latin -ia
Medieval Latin barbaria
Medieval Latin barbarinusbor.
Middle English barbarian
English barbarian
From Middle English barbarian, borrowed from Medieval Latin barbarinus (“Berber, pagan, foreigner”), from Latin barbaria (“foreign country”), from barbarus (“foreigner, savage”), from Ancient Greek βάρβαρος (bárbaros, “foreign, non-Greek, strange”), possibly onomatopoeic (mimicking foreign languages, akin to English blah blah). Cognate to Sanskrit बर्बर (barbara, “barbarian, non-Aryan, stammering, blockhead”).
adjective
- Relating to people, countries, or customs perceived as uncivilized or inferior.
noun barbarians
- A non-Greek or a non-Roman citizen.
- An uncivilized or uncultured person, originally compared to the hellenistic Greco-Roman civilisation; usually associated with senseless violence and self-harm or other such shows of brute force and lack of mental faculty.
- A person destitute of culture; a Philistine. Shall a noble writer, and an inspired noble writer, be called a solecist, and barbarian, for giving a new turn to a word so agreeable to the analogy and genius of the Greek tongue?
- Someone from a developing country or backward culture.
- A brutish warrior depicted in sword and sorcery and other fantasy works; typically clad in primitive furs or leather and usually favoring physical strength over intelligence while often possessing a bellicose temperament and disdain for laws.
- A cruel, savage, inhumane, brutal, violently aggressive person, particularly one who is unintelligent or dim-witted; one without pity or empathy. Thou fell barbarian.
- A foreigner, especially with barbaric qualities as in the above definitions.
