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
- Not classical or pure; uncivilized, uncultured;...
Ancestry of “barbarous”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Latin | barbarus | foreign; savage; uncivilized |
| 2 | Ancient Greek | βάρβαρος | non-Greek-speaking, foreign; barbaric, brutal,... |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | balb- | — |
Words derived from “barbarous”