barbarian

See also: barbarían

English

Etymology

Middle English barbarian, borrowing 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”), onomatopoeic (mimicking foreign languages, akin to English blah blah). Cognate to Sanskrit बर्बर (barbara, “barbarian, non-Aryan, stammering, blockhead”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /bɑː(ɹ).ˈbɛə.ɹi.ən/
• (US) IPA^(key): /bɑɹ.ˈbɛɹ.i.ən/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛəɹiən

Adjective

barbarian (not comparable)

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

Synonyms

• barbaric
• barbarous

Translations

uncivilized

• Arabic: هَمَجِيّ‎ (hamajiyy), مُتَوَحِّش‎ (mutawaḥḥiš)
• Armenian: բարբարոսական (hy) (barbarosakan)
• Bulgarian: варварски (bg) (varvarski)
• Catalan: bàrbar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 蠻 (zh), 蛮 (zh) (mán), 野蠻 (zh), 野蛮 (zh) (yěmán)

• Czech: barbarský (cs)
• Dutch: barbaars (nl)
• Finnish: barbaarinen, barbaarimainen
• French: barbare (fr)
• German: barbarisch (de)
• Greek: βάρβαρος (el) m (várvaros)
• Hebrew: ברברי‎ m (barbári)
• Hungarian: barbár (hu)
• Italian: barbaro (it) m

• Japanese: 野蛮な (ja) (やばんな, yaban-na)
• Kyrgyz: варвар (ky) (varvar)
• Persian: بربری‎ (fa) (barbari)
• Polish: barbarzyński (pl) m
• Portuguese: bárbaro (pt) m
• Russian: ва́рварский (ru) (várvarskij)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: варварски m, барбарски m, дивљачки m

  Roman: varvarski (sh) m, barbarski (sh) m, divljački (sh) m

• Spanish: bárbaro (es)
• Swedish: barbarisk
• Turkish: barbar (tr)
• Ukrainian: варварський (uk) (varvarsʹkyj)
• Vietnamese: dã man (vi) (野蠻)

Noun

barbarian (plural barbarians)

1. (historical) a non-Greek or a non-Roman
2. An uncivilized or uncultured person, originally compared to the hellenistic Greco-Roman civilisation; often associated with fighting or other such shows of strength.
3. (derogatory) Someone from a developing country or backward culture.
4. A warrior, clad in fur or leather, associated with sword and sorcery stories.
5. (derogatory) A person destitute of culture; a Philistine.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of M. Arnold to this entry?)

6. A cruel, savage, brutal person; one without pity or humanity.
   • Philips

     Thou fell barbarian.

Translations

an uncivilized person

• Afrikaans: barbaar
• Arabic: هَمَجِيّ‎ m (hamajiyy)
• Armenian: բարբարոս (hy) (barbaros)
• Bulgarian: дивак (bg) m (divak), варварин (bg) m (varvarin)
• Catalan: bàrbar (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 野蠻人 (zh), 野蛮人 (zh) (yěmánrén), 番子 (zh) (fānzi), 蠻人 (zh), 蛮人 (zh) (mánrén)

• Czech: barbar (cs) m
• Dutch: barbaar (nl) m, f
• Finnish: barbaari (fi), raakalainen (fi)
• French: barbare (fr)
• Georgian: ბარბაროსი (barbarosi)
• German: Barbar (de) m
• Greek: βάρβαρος (el) m (várvaros)
• Hungarian: barbár (hu)
• Icelandic: barbari m
• Italian: barbaro (it)
• Japanese: 野蛮 (ja) (やばん, yaban), 野蛮人 (やばんじん, yabanjin), 蛮人 (ばんじん, banjin), 夷人 (いじん, ijin)

• Korean: 야만인 (ko) (yaman-in) (野蠻人 (ko))
• Latvian: barbari
• Lithuanian: barbarai
• Norman: barbare m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: barbar m

  Nynorsk: barbar m

• Persian: بربر‎ (fa) (barbar)
• Polish: barbarzyńca (pl) m
• Portuguese: bárbaro (pt) m
• Russian: ва́рвар (ru) m (várvar), ва́рварка (ru) f (várvarka), дика́рь (ru) m (dikárʹ), дика́рка (ru) f (dikárka)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Roman: barbar (sh) m, barbarin m

• Spanish: bárbaro (es)
• Swedish: barbar (sv) c
• Turkish: barbar (tr)
• Ukrainian: ва́рвар m (várvar), ва́рварка f (várvarka)
• Vietnamese: người dã man

a derogatory term for someone from a developing country

• Armenian: բարբարոս (hy) (barbaros)
• Bulgarian: дивак (bg) (divak)
• Catalan: bàrbar (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Dutch: barbaar (nl) m, f, primitieveling m, wilde (nl) m, f
• Finnish: mutiainen (fi)
• French: barbare (fr)

• German: Barbar (de) m
• Greek: βάρβαρος (el) m (várvaros), απολίτιστος (el) m (apolítistos)
• Hungarian: barbár (hu)
• Polish: barbarzyńca (pl) m
• Portuguese: bárbaro (pt) m
• Russian: ва́рвар (ru) m (várvar), ва́рварка (ru) f (várvarka)
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: barbar (tr)

a warrior associated with Sword and Sorcery stories

• Catalan: bàrbar (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Dutch: barbaar (nl) m, f
• Finnish: barbaari (fi)
• French: barbare (fr)
• German: Barbar (de) m

• Greek: βάρβαρος (el) m (várvaros)
• Portuguese: bárbaro (pt) m
• Russian: ва́рвар (ru) m (várvar)
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can
• Swedish: barbar (sv) c
• Turkish: barbar (tr)

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

• Icelandic: ^{(please verify)} barbari m, ^{(please verify)} skrælingi m, ^{(please verify)} villimaður m
• Scottish Gaelic: ^{(please verify)} duine borb m, ^{(please verify)} amhasg m, ^{(please verify)} allmharach m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ^{(please verify)} варварин m, ^{(please verify)} дивљак m

  Roman: ^{(please verify)} varvarin m, ^{(please verify)} divljak (sh) m

Related terms

• barbarism
• barbarity
• barbarize
• rhubarb