A barbarian is a human who is perceived to be uncivilized. The word is often used either in a general reference to member of a nation or ethnos, typically a tribal society as seen by an urban civilization either viewed as inferior, or admired as a noble savage. In idiomatic or figurative usage, a "barbarian" may also be an individual reference to a brutal, cruel, warlike, insensitive person.
The term originates from the Greek word βάρβαρος (barbaros). Hence the Greek idiom "πᾶς μὴ Ἕλλην βάρβαρος" (pas mē Hellēn barbaros) which literally means "whoever is not Greek is a barbarian".
In ancient times, Greeks used it mostly for people of different cultures, but there are examples where one Greek city or state would use the word to attack another (e.g. haughty Athenians calling the Boeotians barbarian); in the early modern period and sometimes later, Greeks used it for the Turks, in a clearly pejorative way.
Comparable notions are found in non-European civilizations, notably China and Japan. In the Roman Empire, Romans used the word "barbarian" for many people, such as the Berbers,Nuragic Sardinians, Germanics, Celts, Carthaginians, Iberians, Thracians and Parthians.
Source: www.wikipedia.org
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