Barbarian Meaning
/bɑː(ɹ)ˈbɛə.ɹi.ən/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjRelating to people, countries, or customs perceived as uncivilized or inferior.
nounA non-Greek or a non-Roman citizen.
Sentence Examples
The barbarian is, first and foremost, the man who believes in barbarianism.
My level 9 barbarian has died.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ancient ____ tribes invaded the Roman Empire from the north.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ancient city was attacked by a large tribe of ____ warriors.
Word Origin & History
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”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Shall a noble writer, and an inspired noble writer, be called a solecist, and barbarian, for giving a new turn to a word so agreeable to the analogy and genius of the Greek tongue?"
— 1725, Anthony Blackwall, The Sacred Classics Defended And Illustrated:
"Thou fell barbarian."
— 1712, Ambrose Philips, The Distrest Mother:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ancient ____ tribes invaded the Roman Empire from the north.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ancient city was attacked by a large tribe of ____ warriors.