Bárbaro
/ˈbaɾ.ba.ɾo/noun
A Spanish, Portuguese, or Italian word meaning barbarian, uncivilized person, or, colloquially, excellent or impressive.
Did you know?Ancient Greeks used bárbaros for non-Greek speakers, imitating their speech as meaningless “bar-bar” sounds; the term later became the root of English barbarian.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European hypothesis
PIE
*bar-bar
“A reduplicated imitation of unintelligible speech; the reconstruction is debated rather than certain.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
βάρβαρος (barbaros)
“A foreigner or non-Greek speaker, originally evoking incomprehensible speech.”
Classical Latin
Latin
barbarus
“Foreign, non-Roman, uncivilized, or culturally inferior.”
Medieval Romance
Old Spanish
bárbaro
“Barbarian, savage, or uncivilized; inherited from Latin barbarus.”
16th Century
Spanish
bárbaro
“Barbarous or savage, while also developing a colloquial sense meaning extraordinary or excellent.”
Modern Spanish
Spanish
bárbaro
“Barbarian or savage; in informal usage, great, amazing, or excellent.”