Berber

See also: berber

English

Etymology

From Arabic بَرْبَرِيّ (barbariyy, “Berber”), from Ancient Greek βάρβαρος (bárbaros, “non-Greek, foreign, barbarian”), apparently imitative of foreign speech. Cognate of English barbarian.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈbɜːbə/
• (US, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈbɝ.bɚ/
• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)bə(ɹ)

Noun

Berber (plural Berbers or Berber)

1. (potentially offensive) A member of a particular ethnic group indigenous to northwest Africa.
2. (plural only "Berbers") A kind of traditional rug manufactured by the Berber people.
   • 2009, Jean Nayar, Staged to Sell (or Keep) (page 55)

     Berbers are the best example of looped carpet […]

Usage notes

The first sense of the term may be considered offensive. Much like the term Galla, the term “Berber” is an exonym, with “Amazigh” being preferred in most cases.

Synonyms

• Imazighen pl (singular: Amazigh)

Translations

Member of northwest African ethnic group

Arabic: أَمَازِيغِيّ m (ʔamāzīḡiyy), بَرْبَرِيّ m (barbariyy) (now offensive sometimes, literally "Barbarian”)

• Armenian: բերբեր (hy) (berber)
• Catalan: berber (ca)
• Central Atlas Tamazight: ⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖ (amaziɣ), ⵉⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⴻⵏ pl (imaziɣen)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 柏柏爾／柏柏尔 (zh) (Bòbò'ěr)

• Czech: Berber (cs) m
• Danish: Berber, berber c
• Esperanto: berbero
• Finnish: berberi (fi)
• French: Berbère (fr) m or f
• German: Berber (de) m, Berberin (de) f
• Greek: Βέρβερος (el) m (Vérveros)

  Ancient: Μάξυος m (Máxuos)

• Hindi: बर्बर (hi) (barbar), बार्बर (hi) (bārbar)
• Icelandic: Berberi m
• Irish: Beirbeireach m
• Italian: berbero (it) m, berberi (it) m pl
• Japanese: ベルベル人 (Beruberu-jin)
• Kabyle: amaziɣ
• Korean: 베르베르인 (bereubereu'in)
• Moroccan Amazigh: ⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖ m (amaziɣ), ⵜⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵜ f (tamaziɣt), ⵉⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵏ m pl (imaziɣn), ⵜⵉⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵉⵏ f pl (timaziɣin)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: berber m

  Nynorsk: berbar m

• Polish: Berber (pl) m, Berberyjka (pl) f
• Portuguese: berbere (pt) m
• Russian: бербе́р (ru) m (berbér)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: Бѐрбер m

  Roman: Bèrber m

• Spanish: berebere (es)
• Swedish: berber (sv) c
• Tarifit: amaziɣ m, tamaziɣt f, imaziɣen m pl
• Tashelhiyt: ⴰⵛⵍⵃⵉⵢ m (aclḥiy), ⵜⴰⵛⵍⵃⵉⵢⵜ f (taclḥiyt), ⵉⵛⵍⵃⵉⵢⵏ m pl (iclḥiyn), ⵜⵉⵛⵍⵃⵉⵢⵉⵏ f pl (ticlḥiyin)
• Turkish: Berberi (tr)
• Vietnamese: người Berber

Proper noun

Berber

1. A group of closely related Afroasiatic languages spoken in northern Africa, particularly Morocco and Algeria.

Derived terms

• Proto-Berber

Translations

a group of closely related languages

• Arabic: أَمَازِيغِيَّة (ar) f (ʔamāzīḡiyya)

  Moroccan Arabic: شلحة (šelḥa)

• Catalan: berber (ca) m, amazic (ca) m
• Central Atlas Tamazight: ⵜⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵜ f (tamaziɣt)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 柏柏爾語／柏柏尔语 (Bòbò'ěryǔ)

• Czech: berberština f
• Danish: berbisk
• Finnish: berberi (fi), berberikieli (fi)
• French: berbère (fr) m
• German: Berber (de) n
• Irish: Beirbeiris f
• Japanese: ベルベル語 (ja) (Beruberu-go)
• Navajo: Ghą́ą́ʼaskʼidii bił Naaldlooshí bizaad
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: berbisk m

  Nynorsk: berbisk m

• Occitan: berbèr (oc) m
• Portuguese: berbere (pt) m
• Russian: бербе́рский (ru) (berbérskij)
• Standard Moroccan Amazigh: ⵜⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵜ f (tamaziɣt)
• Tarifit: tamaziɣt f
• Tashelhiyt: ⵜⴰⵛⵍⵃⵉⵢⵜ f (taclḥiyt), ⵜⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵜ f (tamaziɣt)
• Walloon: amazir (wa)

See also

• Category:English terms derived from Berber languages
• Category:Berber languages

Adjective

Berber (not comparable)

1. Of the Berber people, their culture, or their language.

Translations

of the Berber people

• Arabic: أَمَازِيغِيّ (ʔamāzīḡiyy)
• Catalan: berber (ca), amazic (ca)
• Czech: berberský (cs)
• Dutch: Berbers (nl)
• Finnish: berberi- (fi), berberien
• French: berbère (fr)
• Greek: βερβερικός (el) (ververikós)
• Hindi: बर्बर (hi) (barbar), बार्बर (hi) (bārbar)
• Icelandic: berberskur
• Irish: Beirbeireach
• Japanese: ベルベル人 (Beruberu-jin)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: berbisk

  Nynorsk: berbisk

• Polish: berberyjski (pl) m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: бѐрберскӣ

  Roman: bèrberskī (sh)

• Tarifit: amaziɣ m, tamaziɣt f

See also

• Berberophone

Further reading

• ISO 639-5 code ber [1]

Dutch

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɛr.bər/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: Ber‧ber

Noun

Berber m (plural Berbers)

1. Berber, Berber person

Derived terms

• Berbers

Proper noun

Berber n

1. Berber, Berber languages

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɛrbər/, [ˈbɛʁ.bɐ], [ˈbɛɐ̯-]

• Audio:

  (file)

Etymology 1

Borrowed from French berbère, from Arabic بَرْبَر (barbar), from Ancient Greek βάρβαρος (bárbaros, “non-Greek”). Doublet of Barbar.

Noun

Berber m (strong, genitive Berbers, plural Berber, feminine Berberin)

1. Berber person

Declension

Declension of Berber [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Berber	die	Berber
genitive	eines	des	Berbers	der	Berber
dative	einem	dem	Berber	den	Berbern
accusative	einen	den	Berber	die	Berber

Derived terms

• berberisch
• Berbersprache

Etymology 2

Proper noun

Berber m or f (proper noun, surname, masculine genitive Berbers or (with an article) Berber, feminine genitive Berber, plural Berbers or Berber)

1. a surname

Serbo-Croatian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /běrber/
• Hyphenation: Ber‧ber

Noun

Bèrber m (Cyrillic spelling Бѐрбер)

1. Berber (member of the Berber ethnic group)

Declension

Declension of Berber

	singular	plural
nominative	Berber	Berberi
genitive	Berbera	Berbera
dative	Berberu	Berberima
accusative	Berbera	Berbere
vocative	Berberu	Berberi
locative	Berberu	Berberima
instrumental	Berberom	Berberima

Derived terms

• bèrberskī
• Bèrbērka