noun
barbarians; foreigners
Historical term used in pre-modern East Asian contexts to refer to non-Chinese or non-civilized peoples, often with a derogatory nuance. In modern Japanese, it is rarely used except in historical discussions or literary works.
古代中国では、周辺の異民族を夷狄と呼んだ。
In ancient China, surrounding ethnic groups were called barbarians.
この歴史書には夷狄の風習が詳しく記されている。
This history book describes the customs of the barbarians in detail.
From Chinese 夷狄 (yídí), a compound of 夷 (eastern barbarians) and 狄 (northern barbarians). The term was adopted into Japanese with the same historical and derogatory sense.