Episode #327

[Trinoc]

Well, actually the word Barbarian orginal meaning was simply someone that did not speak Greek (later Latin). It is an example of Onomatopoeia. To the Greeks and later Romans barbarians sounds like "Bar bar bar".

My mistake .. I was told the folk etymology that it was derived from the same root as "barb", originally a beard. I also thought it might have some connection with "Berber". An interesting example of how mistaken tales of the origins of words evolve.