Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Barbarian |
BarbarianAdjective1. Without civilizing influences; "barbarian invaders"; "barbaric practices"; "a savage people"; "fighting is crude and uncivilized especially if the weapons are efficient"-Margaret Meade; "wild tribes". Noun1. A member of an uncivilized people. 2. A crude uncouth ill-bred person lacking culture or refinement. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "barbarian" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1050. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Bible | Barbarian a Greek word used in the New Testament (Rom. 1:14) to denote one of another nation. In Col. 3:11, the word more definitely designates those nations of the Roman empire that did not speak Greek. In 1 Cor. 14:11, it simply refers to one speaking a different language. The inhabitants of Malta are so called (Acts 28:1,2, 4). They were originally a Carthaginian colony. This word nowhere in Scripture bears the meaning it does in modern times. Source: Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Historically, the term finds widespread use, for example, in categorizing peoples from outside the Roman Empire or the non-Chinese, whether Mongol or Manchu, who threatened the Chinese empire.
Converted barbarians have historically proved sometimes the staunchest supporters of the more developed culture they have recently subverted. Historic examples are the Lombards and the Manchu. 'The best Romans', wrote Henry James, 'are often northern barbarians.'
Often today, barbarian is used to mean someone violent or uncivilized in general. See also Philistine.
Related terms are barbaric and barbarous. .
See also:
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Barbarian."
Synonyms: BarbarianSynonyms: barbaric (adj), uncivilised (adj), uncivilized (adj), wild (adj), boor (n), churl (n), peasant (n), savage (n), tike (n), tyke (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Commonalty | Goth, Vandal, Hottentot, Zulu, savage, barbarian, Yahoo; unlicked cub, rough diamond. |
Barbarous, barbarian, barbaric, barbaresque;barbarous, barbarian, barbaric, barbaresque; cockney, born within sound of Bow bells. | |
Evil doer | Savage, brute, ruffian, barbarian, semibarbarian, caitiff, desperado; Apache, hoodlum, hood, plug-ugly, pug-ugly, Red Skin, tough; Mohawk, Mo-hock, Mo-hawk; bludgeon man, bully, rough, hooligan, larrikin, dangerous classes, ugly customer; thief. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Barbarian |
| English words defined with "barbarian": Attila ♦ Barbaic, Barbre ♦ Odoacer, Odovacar, Odovakar ♦ Scourge of God, Scourge of the Gods. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "barbarian": Barbarians. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "barbarian": rhubarb. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | He is Thundarr, the Barbarian! (Thundarr the Barbarian; writing credit: Susan Casey; Nancy Naschke) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Barbarian (2003) The Barbarian and the Geisha (1958) Barbarian Queen II: The Empress Strikes Back (1992) A Nymphoid Barbarian in Dinosaur Hell (1991) Barbara the Barbarian (1987) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
Books |
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Theater & Movies | |||
High Tech |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Play | Caption |
 | Wild animal; lion; tiger; beast; beastly; bestial; vicious; barbaric; barbarian; barbarous; savage. |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Author | Quotation |
William Gilmore Simms | The true law of the race is progress and development. Whenever civilization pauses in the march of conquest, it is overthrown by the barbarian. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Author | Date | Quotation |
Communist Manifesto | 1848 | The bourgeoisie, by the rapid improvement of all instruments of production, by the immensely facilitated means of communication, draws all, even the most barbarian, nations into civilisation. (reference) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
Calvin Coolidge | 1923-1929 | While there may be those of high intelligence who violate the law at times, the barbarian and the defective always violate it. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Barbarian" is generally used as an adjective (general or positive) -- approximately 75.51% of the time. "Barbarian" is used about 98 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 75.51% | 74 | 38,813 |
| Noun (singular) | 23.47% | 23 | 72,767 |
| Noun (common) | 1.02% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 98 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "barbarian": barbarian-hunting. | |
Ending with "barbarian": greek-barbarian, semi-barbarian. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "barbarian"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Afrikaans | barbaar. (various references) | |
Albanian | barbar (barbaric, barbarous, goth, gothic, heathen, Hun, vandal). (various references) | |
Arabic | همجي (barbaric, barbarous, bestial, heathen, hooligan, outlandish, ruffian, ruffianly, savage, skinhead, uncivil, uncivilised, undisciplined, wild), وحشي (atrocious, barbarous, bestial, bloodthirsty, bloody, brutal, brute, brutish, cannibalistic, cruel, diabolic, diabolical, draconian, feral, fiendish, fierce, ill, inhuman, inhumane, insensate, remorseless, ruffian, savage, truculent, unfeeling, vicious, wanton, wild), الهمجي, أجنبي (alien, foreign, outlandish, oversea, strange, stranger), بربري (barbaric, insensate, moorish, savage). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | варварски (barbaric, barbarous, feral, gothic, heathenish, inhuman), варварин (goth). (various references) | |
Chinese | 野蛮 (Barbaric, Barbarities, Barbarity, Barbarous, savage), 野 人 , (bullying, quite, reckless, rough, very). (various references) | |
Czech | barbarský (barbaric, barbarous, heathen, savage, uncivilized), barbar (caveman, heathen, savagery, tartarian, tatar). (various references) | |
Dutch | wreedaard, onmens, barbaar. (various references) | |
Esperanto | barbaro. (various references) | |
Farsi | اجنبی , ادم وحشی یابربری , بیگانه (Abroad, Alien, Barbarous, Exotic, Gringo, Only, Outsider, Strange, Stranger). (various references) | |
Finnish | barbaari, raakalainen. (various references) | |
French | barbare (barbaric, barbarous). (various references) | |
German | barbar (brute), barbarisch (barbarianly, barbaric, barbarically, barbarous, barbarously, brutal, savage, uncivilized). (various references) | |
Greek | βάρβαροσ (barbarous, bestial, tramontane). (various references) | |
Hebrew | ברברי (barbaric, savage), ברבר. (various references) | |
Hungarian | barbár (barbaric, barbarous, gothic, gothish, heathenish, inhuman, savage). (various references) | |
Indonesian | biadab (barbaric, barbarous, ill mannered, uncultured, uneducated), orang biadab (cad). (various references) | |
Italian | barbaro (barbaric, barbarous, Hun, inhuman, savage). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 蕃人 (aboriginal, savage), 野蛮人 (savage), 蛮人 (aboriginal, savage), 蛮 , 未開人 (savage, savagepeople), 夷人 (devil), 夷 (Ainu, savage). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | ば"じ" (10000 fathoms, 10000 people, aboriginal, all people, everybody, great depth, great height, savage), ば" (all, evening, many, record, shallow bowl, size, tray), いじ" (devil, different person, foreigner, great man), やば"じ" (savage), みかいじ" (savage, savagepeople), えびす (Ainu, savage, The God of Wealth). (various references) | |
Manx | barbaragh (cruel, ruthless, uncivilized). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | arbarianbay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | bárbaro (barbaric, barbarous, brute, bumbling, cloddish, cruel, fell, larrikin, lawless, low-lived, ruffianly, tramontane, truculent, uncivilized, uncouth, wild). (various references) | |
Romanian | barbar (barbaric, barbarous, goth, gothic, inhuman, savage). (various references) | |
Russian | варварский (barbaric, barbarous, butcherly, gothic, heathenish, truculent, uncivilized, vandal), варвар варварский, варвар (goth). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | varvarski (barbaric, uncivilised), varvarin, divljak (goth, hottentot, savage), divljački (barbaric). (various references) | |
Spanish | bárbaro (barbaric, barbarous, cruel, fantastic, fantastical, gouache, grand, great, heathen, ripping, smashing, super). (various references) | |
Swedish | barbar (goth, heathen, savage). (various references) | |
Thai | คนหยาบคาย (ribald), คนป่าเถื่อน. (various references) | |
Turkish | barbar (barbaric, barbarous, bestial, goth, gothic, heathen, heathenish, savage, uncivilized, vandal, vandalic, wild). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | чужоземний (alien, exotic, exterior, outland, outlandish, peregrinate), чужинець (foreigner, outlander), варварський (barbaric, barbarous, gothic, heathenish, uncivilized, vandal, vandalistic), варвар (goth, heathen, vandal), неук (ignoramus, illiterate, know-nothing, nitwit), заброда, берберійський (barbaresque), дикун (backwoodsman, savage), дикий (barbarous, feral, ferine, natural, orgiastic, savage, wild). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | người man rợ người thô lỗ, người dã man, man rợ thô lỗ, không có văn hoá (uncultured), dã man (barbaric, barbarous, barbarously, bestial, ferocious, inhumanly, sanguinary, savagely). (various references) | |
Welsh | barbariad, anwariad, anwar (barbarous, cruel, savage, wild, wild man). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Greek | 700 BCE-300 CE | barbaros. (various references) |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | barbare, barbari, barbaria, barbaris, barbarus. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Language | Date | Source | Colossians Chapter 3, Verse 11 |
| Greek (transliterated) | 250 BC | Septuagint | Opou ouk eni ellhn kai ioudaioV peritomh kai akrobustia barbaroV skuqhV douloV eleuqeroV alla ta panta kai en pasin cristoV |
| Latin | 405 | Vulgate | Ubi non est gentilis et Iudaeus circumcisio et praeputium barbarus et Scytha servus et liber sed omnia et in omnibus Christus |
| Middle English | 1395 | Wyclif | Where is not male and female, hethene man and Jew, circumcisioun and prepucie, barbarus and Scita, bonde man and fre man, but alle thingis and in alle thingis Crist. |
| Renaissance English | 1526 | Tyndale | Where is nether gentile ner Iewe circumcision nor vncircumcision Barbarous or Sithian bonde or fre: but Christe is all in all thynges. |
| Jacobean English | 1611 | King James | Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. |
| Victorian English | 1833 | Webster | Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. |
| Basic English | 1964 | Ogden | Where there is no Greek or Jew, no one with circumcision or without circumcision, no division between nations, no servant or free man: but Christ is all and in all. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Colossians Chapter 3, Verse 11 |
| Cebuano | Dinhi niini dili ang Gresyanhon o Judio, may sirkunsisyon o walay sirkunsisyon, luog, Sityanhon, ulipon o gawas, kondili si Cristo mao ang tanan ug anaa sa tanan. |
| Croatian | Tu više nema: Grk - Židov, obrezanje - neobrezanje, barbar - skit, rob - slobodnjak, nego sve i u svima - Krist. |
| Danish | hvor der ikke er Græker og Jøde, Omskærelse og Forhud, Barbar, Skyther, Træl, fri, men Kristus er alt og i alle. |
| Dutch | Waarin niet is Griek en Jood, besnijdenis en voorhuid, barbaar en Scyth, dienstknecht en vrije; maar Christus is alles en in allen. |
| Finnish | Ja tässä ei ole kreikkalaista eikä juutalaista, ei ympärileikkausta eikä ympärileikkaamattomuutta, ei barbaaria, ei skyyttalaista, ei orjaa, ei vapaata, vaan kaikki ja kaikissa on Kristus. |
| French | Il n`y a ici ni Grec ni Juif, ni circoncis ni incirconcis, ni barbare ni Scythe, ni esclave ni libre; mais Christ est tout et en tous. |
| German | da nicht ist Grieche, Jude, Beschnittener, Unbeschnittener, Ungrieche, Scythe, Knecht, Freier, sondern alles und in allen Christus. |
| Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari | Sebagai akibat daripada itu lenyaplah segala perbedaan-perbedaan antara orang Yahudi dan bukan Yahudi, orang bersunat dan orang yang tidak bersunat, tidak ada lagi perbedaan antara orang asing dan orang biadab, antara hamba dan orang bebas, sebab Kristus adalah segala-galanya dan Ia bersatu dengan mereka semuanya! |
| Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama | Di dalam hal itu tiada lagi orang Gerika atau orang Yahudi, sunat atau tiada bersunat, Barbar atau Tartar, abdi atau orang merdeka, melainkan Kristus itulah semua dan di dalam semuanya. |
| Latvian | Kur vairs nav ne pagâna, ne jûda, ne apgraizîtâ, ne neapgraizîta, ne barbara, ne skita, ne verga, ne brîvâ, bet viss un visos ir Kristus. |
| Maori | Kei reira kahore he Kariki, he Hurai ranei, he kotinga, he kotingakore ranei, he Tautangata, Haitiana, pononga, he rangatira ranei: engari ko te Karaiti te katoa, i roto ano i te katoa. |
| Norwegian | her er ikke greker og jøde, omskjærelse og forhud, barbar, skyter, træl, fri, men Kristus er alt og i alle. |
| Portuguese | onde não há grego nem judeu, circuncisão nem incircuncisão, bárbaro, cita, escravo ou livre, mas Cristo é tudo em todos. |
| Rumanian | Aici nu mai este nici Grec, nici Iudeu, nici tqiere kmprejur, nici netqiere kmprejur, nici Barbar, nici Schit, nici rob, nici slobod, ci Hristos este totul wi kn toyi. |
| Shuar | Krístuka Ashí írunna nujai nankaamas ashiyaiti. Niiniun pujurui. Tuma asamtai Ashí ni shuari Enentáin Pujá asamtai Nusháa Enentáimtunairchatin ainiawai. Kriaku-shuarsha tura Israer-shuarsha, tsupirnakusha tura tsupirnakchasha, apachcha tura yajaya shuarsha, takarin ainia nusha tura ankant ainia nusha, Kristu Ashí ni Enentáin pujakui Nusháa Enentáimtunairchatniuiti. |
| Swahili | Katika hali hii, hakuna tena tofauti kati ya Mgiriki na Myahudi, aliyetahiriwa na asiyetahiriwa, msomi na asiye msomi, mtumwa na mtu aliye huru. Kristo ni kila kitu, na yumo katika yote. |
| Swedish | Och därvid kommer det icke an på om någon är grek eller jude, omskuren eller oomskuren, barbar eller skyt, träl eller fri; nej, Kristus är allt och i alla. |
| Uma | Jadi', apa' napajadi' -tamo manusia' to bo'u-e, uma-pi tapoposisala to Yahudi pai' to bela-ra to Yahudi, apa' hi poncilo Alata'ala hibalia-wadi tauna to ratini' pai' tauna to uma ratini'. Uma napelence tauna to mosikola ba to uma mosikola, maradika ba batua. Kristus toe-mi poko-na ngkai hawe'ea, pai' Hi'a-mi to mpo'ohai' -ta hawe'ea. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "barbarian": barbarianism, barbarianisms, barbarians. (additional references) | |
| |
"Barbarian" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Babaian, babarian, babikian, Baburen, Barbagia, barbari, barbaria, barbariane, Barbarina, barbarine, Berberana, Farberman, Garbarino, marlborian, marlburian, sarariman. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "barbarian" (pronounced bÄrbe"rēun) |
| 5 | -e" r ē u n | agrarian, authoritarian, carrion, centenarian, Clarion, contrarian, disciplinarian, egalitarian, humanitarian, libertarian, librarian, majoritarian, nonsectarian, octogenarian, ovarian, parliamentarian, planarian, proletarian, sectarian, seminarian, septuagenarian, totalitarian, unitarian, utilitarian, vegetarian, veterinarian. |
| 4 | -r ē u n | centurion, criterion, Cyprian, equestrian, historian, hyperborean, pagurian, pedestrian, praetorian, presbyterian, salutatorian, valedictorian, valerian. |
| 3 | -ē u n | accordion, alien, amphibian, arcadian, bohemian, Campion, chameleon, champion, circadian, collodion, comedian, custodian, draconian, galleon, gorgonian, Guardian, halcyon, herculean, lesbian, mammalian, median, mediterranean, meridian, Napoleon, nickelodeon, oblivion, obsidian, Odeon, plutonian, scorpion, simian, subterranean, symbion, theologian, thespian, utopian. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-a-a-b-b-i-n-r-r" | |
-3 letters: rabbin. | |
-4 letters: bairn, brain, briar, naira, rabbi. | |
-5 letters: abba, abri, airn, aria, baba, bani, barb, barn, birr, bran, brin, raia, rain, rani. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-a-a-b-b-i-n-r-r" | |
+1 letter: barbarians. | |
+3 letters: barbarianism. | |
+4 letters: barbarianisms, barbarization. | |
+5 letters: barbarizations. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Sounds 8. Quotations: Familiar | 9. Quotations: Historic 10. Quotations: Speeches 11. Usage Frequency 12. Expressions | 13. Expressions: Internet 14. Translations: Modern 15. Translations: Ancient 16. Bible Trace | 17. Derivations 18. Rhymes 19. Anagrams 20. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
