barbarian

bar-bar-i-an · noun

imported

Definitions

noun

  1. 1.

    (Historical) A member of a people not belonging to the Greek or Roman civilizations.

  2. 2.

    A person regarded as primitive, uncivilized, or brutish.

  3. 3.

    Relating to or characteristic of barbarians; uncivilized.

Forms

plural: barbarians

Phrases & expressions

  • •
    barbarian at the gates — An uncivilized threat to civilization.

Related words

Antonyms: civilized person
See also: barbarians, primitive, savage
Synonyms: brute, primitive, savage

Etymology

From Greek barbaros ("foreign, strange"), originally imitating the sound of incomprehensible speech ("bar-bar").