Barbarian
The term "
barbarian" refers to a person 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. Hence the Greek idiom "πᾶς μὴ Ἕλλην βάρβαρος" 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; 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, Germanics, Celts, Carthaginians, Iberians, Thracians and Persians.