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barbarian

adj
/bɑː(ɹ)ˈbɛə.ɹi.ən/UK/bɑɹˈbɛəɹ.i.ən/US

Etymology

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”).

  1. derived from βάρβαρος
  2. derived from barbaria
  3. derived from barbarinus
  4. inherited from barbarian

Definitions

  1. Relating to people, countries, or customs perceived as uncivilized or inferior.

  2. A non-Greek or a non-Roman citizen.

  3. An uncivilized or uncultured person, originally compared to the hellenistic Greco-Roman…

    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.

  4. ›+ 5 more definitions

    1. A person destitute of culture

      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?

    2. Someone from a developing country or backward culture.

    3. A brutish warrior depicted in sword and sorcery and other fantasy works

      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.

    4. A cruel, savage, inhumane, brutal, violently aggressive person, particularly one who is…

      A cruel, savage, inhumane, brutal, violently aggressive person, particularly one who is unintelligent or dim-witted; one without pity or empathy.

      • Thou fell barbarian.

    5. A foreigner, especially with barbaric qualities as in the above definitions.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for barbarian. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA