barbarian

[ bahr-bair-ee-uhn ]

noun

1. a person in a savage, primitive state; uncivilized person.
2. a person without culture, refinement, or education; philistine.
3. (loosely) a foreigner.
4. (in ancient and medieval periods)
   1. a non-Greek.
   2. a person living outside, especially north of, the Roman Empire.
   3. a person not living in a Christian country or within a Christian civilization.
5. (among Italians during the Renaissance) a person of non-Italian origin.

adjective

1. uncivilized; crude; savage.

   Synonyms: uncultivated, ignorant, coarse, barbaric, rough, wild, primitive, rude

   Antonyms: civilized, cultivated

2. foreign; alien.

barbarian

/ bɑːˈbɛərɪən /

noun

1. a member of a primitive or uncivilized people
2. a coarse, insensitive, or uncultured person
3. a vicious person

adjective

1. of an uncivilized culture
2. insensitive, uncultured, or brutal

Derived Forms

• barˈbarianism, noun

Other Words From

• bar·bari·an·ism noun
• half-bar·bari·an adjective
• nonbar·bari·an adjective noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of barbarian¹

First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin barbari(a) “barbarous country” ( barbarous, -ia ) + -an

Word History and Origins

Origin of barbarian¹

C16: see barbarous

Synonym Study

Barbarian, barbaric, barbarous pertain to uncivilized people. Barbarian is the general word for anything uncivilized: a barbarian tribe. Barbaric has both unfavorable and mildly favorable connotations, implying crudeness of taste or practice, or conveying an idea of rude magnificence and splendor: barbaric noise. Barbarous emphasizes the inhumanity and cruelty of barbarian life: barbarous customs.

Example Sentences

How could baseball’s greatest position player be benched by the National Baseball Hall of Fame guardians while this ethics barbarian walks through the gate?

From Los Angeles Times

Moving between ages seems to be linked to crises - like barbarian invasions, civil wars and plagues - though exactly how this will work is unclear.

From BBC

Another meme Robinson posted said: “The barbarians are at the gate,” referring to ISIS.

From Salon

“I ask you, what kind of barbarian doesn’t like tea?”

From Literature

To Buntaro, being forced to share a house with a barbarian like John Blackthorne is like living in the monkey house at a zoo.

From New York Times

More About Barbarian

What does barbarian mean?

The word barbarian is used to refer to a person who’s considered extremely crude and uncivilized.

It can also be used as an adjective meaning crude or uncivilized.

There are several related words that are used in the context of people or things considered uncivilized or cruel, including the adjectives barbaric and barbarous and the nouns barbarism and barbarity.

The term barbarian was used by the ancient Greeks and Romans to refer to any foreigner. In ancient and medieval times, it was variously used to refer to non-Greeks, non-Romans, and non-Christians.

The term eventually became associated with a stereotypical image of barbarians as primitive and brutish. For example, movies and comic strips often depict people they call barbarians as dressing in animal skins and carrying simple weapons, like wooden clubs.

Like the word savage, the word barbarian can be very offensive due to its use to dehumanize the people that it’s applied to, especially in a way that calls attention to their otherness or the supposed primitiveness of their culture or customs.

Still, barbarian is often used in an exaggerated way to refer to a person who behaves in a way considered crude or brutish. This use of the word focuses on a person’s crude behavior and is not intended to imply any sense of foreignness. It’s often intended to be lighthearted and humorous.

Example: Boys, please don’t track mud through the house like a bunch of barbarians!

Where does barbarian come from?

The first records of the word barbarian in English come from the 1540s. It ultimately comes from the Greek bárbaros, meaning “non-Greek,” or, more generally, “foreign.”

The Greek bárbaros is related to the Sanskrit barbara, which means “stammering” and was also used to refer to non-Aryans. The ultimate basis of these terms is thought to be an imitation of someone speaking a language that is completely incomprehensible, as if they were just saying the word bar over and over. This origin is indicative of how offensive the word barbarian can be when used in certain ways. Portraying an unfamiliar language as primitive gibberish simply because it’s unfamiliar is offensive in much the same way that calling a person a barbarian can be when it’s meant to dehumanize them due to their differences.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to barbarian?

• barbarianism (noun)
• barbarianize (verb)

What are some synonyms for barbarian?

• philistine
• crude
• uncivilized
• foreign

What are some words that share a root or word element with barbarian? 

• barbaric
• barbarous
• barbarism
• barbarity
• barbarize

What are some words that often get used in discussing barbarian?

• invasion
• horde
• bunch
• wild
• rough
• vandal
• Hun
• Goth

How is barbarian used in real life?

Barbarian is almost always used negatively, though the level of negativity varies widely. Historically, it was used as a negative term for foreigners, and it can be offensive when used to dehumanize a person and imply that their culture is primitive.

In 83 AD, an Iron Age army fought a great battle with Roman soldiers in north-east Scotland ⚔️

They were portrayed as naked 'barbarians’ in Roman sources, but they were in fact skilled warriors and craftspeople, with trading contacts across Europe: https://t.co/J6aQlRCugo pic.twitter.com/AgwMXZvHAo

— Dig It! (@DigItScotland) May 10, 2020

The migration of Goths across Europe is often characterised as a barbarian invasion, but the story told here is of families struggling to survive https://t.co/hq7ClrjHpY

— The Economist (@TheEconomist) June 23, 2020

The frat boys in the building next to me are yelling like a bunch of barbarians right now #ItsSunday 😑

— Lauren Elliott (@heyLo_93) February 3, 2014