Roman sculpture of a barbarian. Object dated to the 2nd century CE. The artifact is in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples.
The word “barbarian” comes from the Latin word barbarus, which means “foreigner”. In the opinion of the ancient Romans, a barbarian was anyone who was not a Roman.
Naturally, the Romans took their word from the Greeks, who called all non-Greeks barbaros. It was a term for uncivilized people.
