 | WordWeight : Weighing the Words |
| WordWeight : Weighing the Words |
Barbarism
Pronunciation : Bar"ba*rism
Part of Speech : n.
Etymology : [L. barbarismus, Gr.; cf. F. barbarisme.]
Definition : 1. An uncivilized state or condition; rudeness of manners; ignorance of arts, learning, and literature; barbarousness. Prescott.
2. A barbarous, cruel, or brutal action; an outrage. A heinous barbarism . . . against the honor of marriage. Milton.
3. An offense against purity of style or language; any form of speech contrary to the pure idioms of a particular language. See Solecism. The Greeks were the first that branded a foreign term in any of their writers with the odious name of barbarism. G. Campbell.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913
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