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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
Faldage, citing authority claims
barbaric doesn't seem to carry the connotation of cruelty that barbarous does.
NicholasW, citing perhaps common sense, claims
'Barbarous' has the sense of uncouth, foreign, or uncivilized.
'Barbaric' has the sense of cruel, horrifying, or "mediaeval".
Now that you are suitably edified, welcome to the club. We are, AnnaS should forgive me for saying, anything you like except unanimous.
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Joined: Dec 2000
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enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Dec 2000
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I was going to mention (can't think why I didn't) that I found it odd someone felt the nuances were reversed. I think my usage (one of the rare extremely instances where I remember being taught a distinction) accords with what I see and hear around me: 'barbaric torture' sounds right, as does 'a barbarous, unlettered state', which illustrate my connotations.
I would now go to the OED and count and sort the quotations, but the library opposite is shut on Wednesdays.
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400 |
I was thinking about this last night, and wondered, even thought they have the same root -- from the greek word for foriegner..
i think that barbarous might refer to the pirates of the Barbary coast* (cut throats and not someone you'd want to meet in a dark alley, or all alone at sea) and barbaric-- acting like a foreigner..
it would account for what we all seem to realize is a difference in the meaning of the two words...
*and as to not cast aspersions on the people of barbary-- NY (City) was (and some say, still is) home to many a pirate. Capt. Kidd called it home-- as well as many lesser known pirates. Mostly they stole from the Spanish traders (and the english didn't mind) but eventually, when pick'ins got slim, they raided english ships too. A No-No!
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