barbarisation
|bar-ba-ri-sa-tion|
🇺🇸
/ˌbɑːrbəraɪˈzeɪʃən/
🇬🇧
/ˌbɑːbəraɪˈzeɪʃən/
to make barbaric; to render uncivilized
Etymology
'barbarisation' originates from English formations based on the verb 'barbarize' (also British 'barbarise'), ultimately from Late Latin and Greek roots; the verb was modelled after the Late Latin 'barbarizare' and English verbal suffixation '‑ise/‑ize'.
'barbarisation' developed from English verbs 'barbarize'/'barbarise', which in turn came from Late Latin 'barbarizare' (from Greek 'barbarizō'), ultimately rooted in Greek 'barbaros' meaning 'foreign, unintelligible, savage'. Over time the Late Latin verb passed into medieval and modern European languages and produced English 'barbarize/barbarise' and then the noun 'barbarisation'.
Initially related to being 'foreign' or 'inarticulate' (from Greek 'barbaros' meaning 'foreign/unintelligible'), the term's sense shifted to actions or processes that make people, customs, language, or societies 'uncivilized' or 'brutal', which is the modern primary meaning.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the process or result of making something barbarous, uncivilized, or brutal; a decline into savagery or loss of civilised behaviour.
Many critics warned that prolonged neglect would lead to the barbarisation of the historic district.
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Noun 2
the act of making language, customs, or artistic forms crude or corrupted (e.g. by rough modification or foreign influence perceived as destructive).
Scholars debated whether the introduction of slang amounted to the barbarisation of the literary language.
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Last updated: 2026/01/14 01:30