barbarian

Pronunciation

• IPA: /bɑː(ɹ)ˈbɛə.ɹi.ən/ (UK); /bɑɹˈbɛəɹ.i.ən/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

Before 1338 as barbaryn,^[2] borrowed from Old French barbarin or directly from Medieval Latin barbarinus,^[2][3] probably from Latin barbaria (“foreign country”),^[2][4] from barbarus “foreign, strange”,^[5][2][3][6] from Ancient Greek βάρβαρος (bárbaros, “foreign; ignorant”).^[2][3] The Greek word was originally echoic of the unintelligible speech of foreigners (“bar-bar”);^[2][3] compare Sanskrit barbara- “stammering” and Latin balbus (“stammering”).^[2][3] The AHD takes the English word through French barbarien.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

An infidel, especially a Muslim (before 1338), and later a foreigner (1384).^[2]

Semantic evolution

In Greek barbaroi meant all who were not Greek, especially the Medes and Persians, and at first it was not wholly pejorative; it grew more so after the Persian wars.^[3] The Romans applied it to peoples without Greek or Roman accomplishments,^[3] and English used it in reference to classical history for a non-Greek or non-Roman, and later for one outside Christian civilization.^[3][7][4] The sense “rude, wild, uncivilized person” is recorded from 1613.^[7][3] Renaissance Italians used it of anyone not Italian (1604),^[7][4] and the Chinese were reported to apply it contemptuously to foreigners (1858).^[7]

Timeline

• before 1338 – barbaryn, an infidel (Barnhart).^[2]
• 1384 – a foreigner.^[2]
• mid-14th century – adjective, foreign.^[3]
• 1549 – a foreigner whose language and customs differ from one's own.^[7]
• 1613 – a rude, wild, uncivilized person.^[7][3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A member of a people regarded by another nation or group as having a primitive civilization.
2. (history) A non-Greek; or a person living outside the Roman Empire or outside Christendom.
3. A fierce, brutal or cruel person.
4. An uncultured, insensitive person; a boor or philistine.

Adjective

1. Of or relating to a land, culture or people regarded as alien and inferior.
2. Lacking refinement, learning or culture; uncivilized.

Word family

• barbarianism

Related words

• barbarism
• barbarity
• barbarize
• barbary
• rhubarb
• outlander
• barbaric
• barbarous
• babble

Usage notes

Random House distinguishes three adjectives: barbarian is the general word for anything uncivilized, barbaric suggests crudeness of taste but can also convey rude splendour, and barbarous stresses inhumanity and cruelty.^[4]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
5. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
6. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press