adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective
barbarus1
barbarus (feminine barbara, neuter barbarum, adverb barbarē)
Classical[ˈbar.ba.rʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈbar.ba.rus]
№ 768 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- adjectiveforeign, strange
- adjectivesavage, hostile
- adjectivebarbaric, barbarous, uncivilized
“Quod genus hoc hominum? Quaeve hunc tam barbara mōrem
“What race of men [is] this? Or what country [is] so barbaric that it permits this custom?”29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 1.539–540
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
homō aliēnus, quī Latīnē nōn loquitur; Rōmānī Gallōs et Germānōs barbarōs vocābant.barbarus -ī m — in Mille Verba, Bellum et Arma
Declension
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | barbarus | barbara | barbarum |
| genitive | barbarī | barbarae | barbarī |
| dative | barbarō | barbarae | barbarō |
| accusative | barbarum | barbaram | barbarum |
| ablative | barbarō | barbarā | barbarō |
| vocative | barbare | barbara | barbarum |
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | barbarī | barbarae | barbara |
| genitive | barbarōrum | barbarārum | barbarōrum |
| dative | barbarīs | barbarīs | barbarīs |
| accusative | barbarōs | barbarās | barbara |
| ablative | barbarīs | barbarīs | barbarīs |
| vocative | barbarī | barbarae | barbara |
barbărus, a, um (
I. gen. plur. m. barbarum, Tac. A. 14, 39; 15, 25), adj., = βάρβαρος [cf. barrio; balo, balbus; blatio].
I. Prop., foreign, strange, barbarous, opp. to Greek or Roman.
A. In gen.:
hospes, Plaut. Rud. 2, 7, 25: mixta facit Graiis barbara turba metum, Ov. Tr. 5, 10, 28; Hor. C. 1, 29, 6: reges, id. ib. 1, 35, 11.—Hence, in Tac., in barbarum, adverb., in the manner or according to the custom of foreigners or barbarians: civitas potens, neque in barbarum corrupta, Tac. A. 6, 42; id. H. 5, 2.— As subst.: barbărus, i, m., a foreigner, stranger, barbarian: sin hoc et ratio doctis et necessitas barbaris praescripsit, Cic. Mil. 11, 30; Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 50, § 112; 2, 5, 60, § 157: quo neque noster adit quisquam, nec barbarus audet, Lucr. 6, 37: quippe simul nobis habitat discrimine nullo Barbarus, Ov. Tr. 5, 10, 30: barbarorum soli prope Germani singulis uxoribus contenti, Tac. G. 18: barbari praestabant non modicam humanitatem, Vulg. Act. 28, 1.—B. Esp., of a particular people, in opp. to Greek or Roman or both; cf.:
Romanus Graiusque ac barbarus induperator, Juv. 10, 138 (cf.: barbaria, barbaricus, and Fest. s. v. barbari, p. 36 Müll.). 1. (In the mouth of a Greek, or in opp. to Greek.) Italian, Roman, Latin (never so used by the Romans):
nam os columnatum poetae esse inaudivi barbaro (sc. Naevio) (words of the Ephesian Periplectomenes), Plaut. Mil. 2, 2, 58; id. Stich. 1, 3, 40: i, stultior es barbaro Poticio, id. Bacch. 1, 2, 15: absurdum erat aut tantum barbaris casibus Graecam litteram (φ) adhibere, aut recto casu Graece loqui, Cic. Or. 48, 160.—So also, b. In the mouth of a Macedonian:
cum alienigenis, cum barbaris aeternum omnibus Graecis bellum est eritque, Liv. 31, 29, 15.—And, c. In reference to the inhabitants of Pontus:
barbarus hic ego sum, quia non intellegor ulli, Ov. Tr. 5, 10, 37.—2. Phrygian:
tibia, Cat. 64, 264; cf. Lucr. 4, 546 Forbig.: sonante mixtum tibiis carmen lyrae, Hac Dorium, illis barbarum, Hor. Epod. 9, 6; Verg. A. 11, 777; Ov. M. 14, 163.—3. Persian, a Persian:
solere reges barbaros Persarum ac Syrorum pluris uxores habere, Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 33, § 76; Nep. Milt. 7, 1; id. Them. 3, 1; 6, 2; 7, 5; Curt. 3, 11, 16; 5, 10. 2.—Thus the king of the Persians is called barbarus, Nep. Them. 4, 4; id. Con. 4, 3; and high officers of the king, barbari, id. Ages. 3, 1; cf.: Romanum agmen ad similitudinem barbari incessus convertere, Tac. A. 3, 33.— 4. In gen., for any hostile people (among the Romans, after the Aug. age, esp. the German tribes, as, among the Greeks, after the Persian war, the Persians):
opinio, quae animos gentium barbararum pervaserat, Cic. Imp. Pomp. 9, 23; id. Sull. 27, 76; of the Gauls, Liv. 6, 42, 7; the Germans, Tac. H. 4, 29; 5, 14; id. A. 1, 64; Suet. Aug. 21; id. Tib. 9; id. Calig. 5; 47; 51; id. Galb. 6; id. Dom. 6; 12; Amm. 18, 2, 5: ut sunt fluxioris fidei barbari, id. 18, 2, 18; the Thracians, Nep. Alcib. 7, 4; Tac. A. 4, 47; 11, 51; Carthaginians, Nep. Timol. 1, 1; Cilicians, id. Thras. 4, 4; Phœnicians and Cyprians, id. Cim. 2, 3; Parthians, Suet. Vesp. 8; Tac. A. 2, 2; 13, 26; Africans, Cic. Att. 9, 7; Suet. Galb. 7; Claud. 42; Tac. A. 4, 25; Britons, id. ib. 16, 17; 12, 35; 14, 32; even of the Dassaretians, a Greek people, Liv. 31, 33, 5; while the Romans did not elsewhere use barbarus for Greek.—II. Transf., foreign, strange, in mind or character.
A. In mind, uncultivated, ignorant; rude, unpolished:
qui aliis inhumanus ac barbarus, isti uni commodus ac disertus videretur, Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 9, § 23: ecqua civitas est... aut tam potens aut tam libera aut etiam tam inmanis ac barbara, etc., id. ib. 2, 4, 11, § 24: nationes, Tac. H. 3, 5; Prop. 2, 16, 27: Maroboduus... natione magis quam ratione barbarus, Vell. 2, 108, 2.—Comp., of verses: non sunt illa suo barbariora loco, Ov. Tr. 5, 1, 72.—B. Of character, wild, savage, cruel, barbarous:
neque tam barbari linguā et natione illi, quam tu naturā et moribus, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 50, § 112: immanis ac barbara consuetudo hominum immolandorum, id. Font. 14, 31 (10, 21); id. Phil. 3, 6, 15; 13, 9, 21: gens, id. Sull. 27, 76: homines, Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 32, § 81: homo, id. ib. 2, 5, 57, § 148: pirata, id. Rosc. Am. 50, 146: praedones, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 55, § 122; Tib. 2, 5, 48: tollite barbarum Morem, Hor. C. 1, 27, 2: Medea, id. Epod. 5, 61: domina, id. C. 3, 27, 66: libidines, id. ib. 4, 12, 7: ignis, Ov. M. 14, 574: populus, Vulg. Psa. 113, 1.— * Comp.: sacra barbariora, Ov. P. 3, 2, 78.— Sup. not in use.—Hence, adv.: barbărē. A. Prop., as a foreigner would, in a foreign tongue: Demophilus scripsit;
Marcus vortit barbare, i. e. into Latin, Plaut. As. prol. 10; id. Trin. prol. 19; cf. barbarus, I. B. 1. —B. Transf.
a. Rudely, ignorantly, in an uncultivated way:
si grammaticum se professus quispiam barbare loqueretur, Cic. Tusc. 2, 4, 12: ut is, a quo insolenter quid aut minaciter aut crudeliter dictum sit, barbare locutus existimetur, Quint. 1, 5, 9: tota saepe theatra et omnem Circi turbam exclamasse barbare scimus, id. 1, 6, 45.—b. Rudely, roughly, barbarously, cruelly:
dulcia barbare Laedentem oscula, Hor. C. 1, 13, 15: ferociter et barbare facere, Vulg. 2 Macc. 15, 2.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
barbarus adj.
with (poet.) comp., βάρβαρος, of strange speech, speaking jargon, unintelligible: lingua, S.: sum, quia non intellegor ulli, O. — Foreign, strange, barbarous, uncivilized, not Greek nor Roman: mixta Graiis turba, O.: reges, H.: gentes, the Germans.—As subst: multa milia barbarorum, L.: apud barbaros in honore: barbarorum soli Germani, etc., Ta.: quae tibi virginum barbara serviet? H.—Of things: carmen, Phrygian (opp. Dorium), H.: Prora, O.: tegmina crurum, V.—Like a foreigner, rude, uncultivated, ignorant, uncivilized: homines: superstitio.—Savage, cruel, barbarous, fierce: in edictis: pirata: consuetudo: mos, H.: sacra suo barbariora loco, O. —As subst: exsultat barbarus, the barbarian, O.
Origins
From Ancient Greek βάρβαρος (bárbaros, “foreign, strange”) onomatopoeic (mimicking foreign languages, akin to “blah blah”).