barbarian
See also: barbarían
English
Etymology
Middle English barbarian, borrowed from Medieval Latin barbarinus (“Berber, pagan, Saracen, barbarian”), 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
Adjective
barbarian (not comparable)
Translations
uncivilized
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Noun
barbarian (plural barbarians)
- (historical) A non-Greek or a non-Roman.
- An uncivilized or uncultured person, originally compared to the hellenistic Greco-Roman civilisation; often associated with fighting or other such shows of strength.
- (derogatory) Someone from a developing country or backward culture.
- A warrior, clad in fur or leather, associated with sword and sorcery stories.
- (derogatory) A person destitute of culture; a Philistine.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of M. Arnold to this entry?)
- A cruel, savage, brutal person; one without pity or humanity.
- Philips
- Thou fell barbarian.
- Philips
- (derogatory) A foreigner, especially with barbaric qualities as in the above definitions.
Synonyms
- (foreigner): alien, outlander, peregrine; see also Thesaurus:foreigner
Translations
uncivilized person
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derogatory term for someone from a developing country
warrior associated with Sword and Sorcery stories
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked
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