Barbarian

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A barbarian is a member of a people who are not part of one of the ancient 'great nations'. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less civilized or orderly (such as a tribal society) but may also be part of a certain "primitive" cultural group (such as nomads) or social class (such as bandits) both within and outside one's own nation.

A similar term, savage, has historically Indigenous connotations.

In idiomatic or figurative usage, a "barbarian" may also be an individual reference to a brutal, cruel, warlike, and insensitive person.^[1]

The term originates from the Greek: βάρβαρος (barbaros pl. βάρβαροι barbaroi). In Ancient Greece, the Greeks used the term not only towards those who did not speak Greek and follow classical Greek customs,^[2] but also towards Greek populations on the fringe of the Greek world with peculiar dialects.^[3] In Ancient Rome, the Romans adapted and used the term towards tribal non-Romans such as the Germanics, Celts, Iberians, Thracians, Illyrians, and Sarmatians. In the early modern period and sometimes later, the Byzantine Greeks used it for the Turks in a clearly pejorative manner.^[4]^[5]

^ Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, 1972, p. 149, Simon & Schuster Publishing.
^ Amy Chua, Jed Rubenfeld (2014). The Triple Package: How Three Unlikely Traits Explain the Rise and Fall of Cultural Groups in America. Penguin Press HC. p. 121. ISBN 978-1-59420-546-0.
^ Crespo, Emilio; Giannakis, Georgios; Filos, Panagiotis (2017). Studies in Ancient Greek Dialects: From Central Greece to the Black Sea. De Gruyter. p. 218. ISBN 978-3-11-053213-5.
^ Εκδοτική Αθηνών, ο Ελληνισμός υπό ξένη κυριαρχία: Τουρκοκρατία, Λατινοκρατία, 1980, p. 34 (in Greek).
^ Justin Marozzi, The Way of Herodotus: Travels with the Man who Invented History, 2010, pp. 311–315.

[1] Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, 1972, p. 149, Simon & Schuster Publishing.

[2] Amy Chua, Jed Rubenfeld (2014). The Triple Package: How Three Unlikely Traits Explain the Rise and Fall of Cultural Groups in America. Penguin Press HC. p. 121. ISBN 978-1-59420-546-0.

[3] Crespo, Emilio; Giannakis, Georgios; Filos, Panagiotis (2017). Studies in Ancient Greek Dialects: From Central Greece to the Black Sea. De Gruyter. p. 218. ISBN 978-3-11-053213-5.

[4] Εκδοτική Αθηνών, ο Ελληνισμός υπό ξένη κυριαρχία: Τουρκοκρατία, Λατινοκρατία, 1980, p. 34 (in Greek).

[5] Justin Marozzi, The Way of Herodotus: Travels with the Man who Invented History, 2010, pp. 311–315.

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