Link Centre Dictionary

barbarian

bar·ba·rian

UK/bɑː(ɹ)ˈbɛə.ɹi.ən/ US/bɑɹˈbɛəɹ.i.ən/ fairly common
noun (2) adjective (1)

noun

1.

a member of an uncivilized people

Synonyms
2.

adjective

1.

without civilizing influences

  • “barbarian invaders”
  • “barbaric practices”
  • “a savage people”
  • “fighting is crude and uncivilized especially if the weapons are efficient” Margaret Meade
  • “wild tribes”
Synonyms
Similar

Origin

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”).

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.