barbarous

1. 古希腊人很看不起外地人，说外地人讲话是 *barbar-，这是一个拟声词根，模拟小孩咿呀学语时口齿不清的声音、发音，由此表示“说话像孩子那样口齿不清”，现在演化为 barbarous "未开化的"、barbarian "野蛮人，就像咱们称呼未开化的外族人为：蛮人、夷人、胡人等"。汉语说“巴拉巴拉”时，也是一种拟声、也是一种贬义，这时英语用 blah-blah，这与汉语的拟声完全一样。
2. from PIE root *barbar- echoic of unintelligible speech of foreigners.
3. Originally not entirely pejorative, its sense darkened after the Persian wars. The Romans (technically themselves barbaroi) took up the word and applied it to tribes or nations which had no Greek or Roman accomplishments.
4. barbar- + -ous.
5. bar(棍) + bar(棍) + ian(人) => 一个人一手拿个棍子野蛮的人。

barbarous

barbarous: [15] Originally, a barbarous person was a ‘foreigner’, anyone who did not speak your own language. Greek bárbaros meant ‘foreign, ignorant’, and it has been speculated that its ultimate signification was ‘unable to speak intelligibly’ (the related Sanskrit barbaras meant ‘stammering’). English acquired the word from Latin barbarus, a modified Vulgar Latin version of which, *brabus, produced Italian bravo and hence, via French, English brave.
=> brave

barbarous (adj.)

c. 1400, "uncivilized, uncultured, ignorant," from Latin barbarus, from Greek barbaros (see barbarian). Meaning "not Greek or Latin" (of words or language) is from c. 1500; that of "savagely cruel" is from 1580s.

1. He thought the poetry of Whitman barbarous.

他认为惠特曼的诗歌太粗俗。

2. the barbarous treatment of these prisoners of war

对这些战俘的残酷待遇

3. They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities.

他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行.

4. It was barbarous to treat prisoners in that manner.

如此对待犯人,真是太残忍了.

5. It is barbarous to call at 5 a.m.

清晨五点给人打电话是缺乏教养的行为.

【brutal, ruthless, savage, fierce, inhuman, barbarous, cruel】
这组词都有“残忍的”的意思，其区别是：
brutal: 指极端的残忍，强调无情或缺乏同情心，含不择手段的意味。
ruthless: 与cruel同义。强调为达到目的，对别人的痛苦毫无怜悯之心。
savage: 指缺乏文明人应有的教养，尤指在动怒或冲动时表现出的粗野蛮横，含野蛮意味。
fierce: 指天性凶恶，令人害怕。
inhuman: 着重缺乏同情心、仁爱等人类特有的良好的品质。
barbarous: 专指只有原始或未开化的人才会有的残忍行为。
cruel: 一般用词，指行动或态度的残忍。