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Berber

Berber

1 7.2
A person from the native peoples of North Africa, especially Morocco and Algeria
  • noun
  • /ˈbɜr.bər/
translation icon : bereber
  • As a child, she learned about her Berber ancestry and the history of her people.

Examples

  • Settlements and outposts still suffer Berber raids, but Belisarius delegates this war to his able staff officer, Solomon.

  • Settlements and outposts still suffer Berber raids, but Belisarius delegates this war to his able staff officer, Solomon.

  • Shazy comes in with the odd, the odd little finisher says he's wicked, but Berber, just Berber.

  • All this would change with the rise of a Sanhja Berber named Abdullah Ibn Yasin.

  • Many Berber people have preserved their cultural traditions despite modernization.

  • The Berber community in Morocco celebrates its heritage with colorful festivals.

Synonyms

Amazigh
vsBerber
9.6

A member of the Berber people of North Africa

is the common English label rather than the group's own name

Compounds

A coastal region on the Mediterranean Sea in North Africa historically known for pirates

Surface Forms

Berber singular
Berbers plural

Etymology

Berber comes from an old Greek word barbaros meaning 'foreign' or 'barbarian', a name used by Greeks for people who did not speak their language. A helpful note is that many of these people call themselves Amazigh, but the name Berber stayed in English and other languages to mean the indigenous peoples of North Africa.