- published: 15 Jun 2011
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Barbarian and savage are terms used to refer to a person who is perceived to be uncivilized. The word is often used either in a general reference to a 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 civilization, meaning "anyone who is not Greek". In ancient times, Greeks used it for the people of the Persian Empire; in the early modern period and sometimes later, they used it for the Turks, in a clearly pejorative way. Comparable notions are found in non-European civilizations. In the Roman empire, barbarian was meant as "anyone not educated in Roman ways".
The Ancient Greek word βάρβαρος (barbaros), "barbarian", was an antonym for πολίτης (politis) "citizen," from polis "city-state." The sound of barbaros onomatopoetically evokes the image of babbling (a person speaking a non-Greek language). The earliest attested form of the word is the Mycenaean Greek pa-pa-ro, written in Linear B syllabic script.
I'm walking through the city of the dead. I'm thinking of the words that I should have said. The world has chewed me up and spit me out the end of it's tongue. When the wolves licked their lips, I could've swor they were falling in love. I've got the remedy for you. throw out those medicines you normally consume. I've got the remedy for you. No needles and blood and swalling tongues. Oh, brother, we're falling in love. So brace yourself. We're cleaning you out of all your sickly addictions. So pace yourself. The clock is freaking you out and tearing you down.