barbarian
See also: barbarían
English
editEtymology
editFrom 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”).
Pronunciation
edit- (UK) IPA(key): /bɑː(ɹ).ˈbɛə.ɹi.ən/
- (US) IPA(key): /bɑɹ.ˈbɛəɹ.i.ən/
Audio (US): (file) - Rhymes: -ɛəɹiən
Adjective
editbarbarian (not comparable)
Synonyms
editDerived terms
editTranslations
edituncivilized
|
Noun
editbarbarian (plural barbarians)
- (historical) 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 or other such shows of brute force and lack of mental faculty.
- (derogatory) A person destitute of culture; a Philistine.
- 1725, Anthony Blackwall, The Sacred Classics Defended And Illustrated:
- 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?
- (derogatory) Someone from a developing country or backward culture.
- A warrior depicted in sword and sorcery and other fantasy works; typically clad in primitive furs or leather and favoring physical strength over intelligence while often possessing a bellicose temperament and disdain for laws.
- (derogatory) A cruel, savage, inhumane, brutal, violently aggressive person, particularly one who is unintelligent or dim-witted; one without pity or empathy.
- 1712, Ambrose Philips, The Distrest Mother:
- Thou fell barbarian.
- (derogatory) A foreigner, especially with barbaric qualities as in the above definitions.
Synonyms
edit- (foreigner): alien, outlander, peregrine; see also Thesaurus:foreigner
Translations
edita non-Greek or a non-Roman
uncivilized person
|
derogatory term for someone from a developing country
|
warrior associated with Sword and Sorcery stories
|
a cruel, savage, brutal person; one without pity or humanity
|
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
|
Related terms
editCategories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Medieval Latin
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms derived from Ancient Greek
- English 4-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ɛəɹiən
- Rhymes:English/ɛəɹiən/4 syllables
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English uncomparable adjectives
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with historical senses
- English derogatory terms
- English terms with quotations
- en:People