Where does “barbarous” come from?

Barbarous derives from Latin barbarus, from Ancient Greek βάρβαρος, ultimately from the reduplicative form βαρ-βαρ, originally imitating unintelligible speech.

barbarous (English): Not classical or pure; uncivilized, uncultured;...

Definitions

  1. Not classical or pure; uncivilized, uncultured;...

Ancestry of “barbarous”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinbarbarusforeign; savage; uncivilized
2Ancient Greekβάρβαροςnon-Greek-speaking, foreign; barbaric, brutal,...
3Proto-Indo-Europeanbalb-—

Words derived from “barbarous”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European balb- →Every word from Ancient Greek βάρβαρος →Every word from Latin barbarus →