Iberian

1 of 4

adjective (1)

Ibe·​ri·​an ī-ˈbir-ē-ən 

1

a

: of or relating to the peoples anciently inhabiting parts of the peninsula comprising Spain and Portugal or to their languages

The people known to scholars as Iberians seem to have been located primarily along the east coast of Spain … . Hundreds of Iberian inscriptions have been found throughout this entire region, showing the presence of a common language.

—Justin St. P. Walsh

b

: of or relating to ancient Iberia (see Iberia sense 1)

… we prefer a short detour to the south of the paved highway to the village of Tricio, built over the ruins of an ancient Iberian city.

—David M. Gitlitz and Linda Kay Davidson

2

: of or relating to Spain, Portugal, or the Basque region or to their inhabitants

modern Iberian cuisine

IBS affects up to 7.8% of the total Iberian population (Spain, Portugal and Andorra) …

—PR Newswire Europe (London)

see also iberian peninsula

Iberian

2 of 4

noun (1)

1

a

: a member of one or more peoples anciently inhabiting parts of the peninsula comprising Spain and Portugal

b

: a native or inhabitant of Spain or Portugal or the Basque region

2

: one or more of the languages of the ancient Iberians

Iberian

3 of 4

adjective (2)

: of or relating to the Caucasus of Asia between the Black and Caspian seas or to its inhabitants

From the Iberian Caucasus, the most lofty and craggy mountains of Asia …

—Edward Gibbon

Iberian

4 of 4

noun (2)

: a member of one or more peoples anciently inhabiting the Caucasus in Asia between the Black and Caspian seas

Examples of Iberian in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

For example, some lineages found in Siberian and Iberian fossils show genetic traces of North American horses. —Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 15 May 2025

In May 2024, orca whales sank a sailing yacht in the Strait of Gibraltar — one of numerous reports of aggressive encounters between orcas and sailboats in the Iberian coast off of Europe since 2020. Skorobogatova emerged from her encounter unscathed, though her boat did get a few bumps. —Kelli Bender, People.com, 12 May 2025

Noun

Lack of inertia has been blamed for the widespread blackout on the Iberian Peninsula and is becoming an issue for utilities with a lot of solar and wind generation, so called inverter power. —Llewellyn King, Forbes.com, 24 May 2025

More specifically, no major solar flares or coronal mass ejections (CMEs) were detected in the days leading up to Spain's May 20 mobile outages or earlier power blackouts across the Iberian Peninsula. —Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 22 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Iberia, peninsula in Europe

Noun (2)

Iberia, ancient region of the Caucasus

First Known Use

Adjective (1)

circa 1618, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun (1)

1611, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective (2)

1671, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1601, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for Iberian

• assyrian
• counterion
• criterion
• hyperion
• illyrian
• mousterian
• shakespearean
• shakespearian
• hanoverian
• presbyterian
• virion