Barbary
/ˈbɑːrbəri/noun
A historical name for the North African region along the Mediterranean coast, especially the lands of the Barbary States.
Did you know?Barbary is tied to the ancient ethnonym Berber, ultimately from Greek and Latin forms that referred to the peoples of North Africa, not to any word meaning 'barbaric.'
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
βάρβαρος (bárbaros)
“foreign, non-Greek; later, rude or uncivilized”
Latin
Latin
barbarus
“foreign, barbarian”
Medieval Latin
Latin
Barbaria
“land of the Berbers / North Africa”
Middle French
French
Barbarie
“Barbary, North Africa”
16th Century
English
Barbary
“the North African coast and its states”