Berber
/ˈbɜːr.bər/noun
A member of the indigenous peoples of North Africa, or the languages spoken by those peoples.
Did you know?The English name Berber ultimately comes through Arabic and Greek from the same ancient outsider-word family as barbarian, showing how a people’s name can be shaped by the sound of foreign speech.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Gk
βάρβαρος (barbaros)
“foreign, non-Greek; later, uncivilized”
Late Latin
Lat
barbarus
“foreign; barbarian”
Arabic
Ar
barbar
“Berber people; North African peoples”
Medieval Latin
ML
Berber
“Berber people”
Modern English
En
Berber
“a member of the indigenous peoples of North Africa”