Farang

Arabic The Persian word farang () or farangī (), refers to Franks, the major Germanic tribe ruling Western Europe. Frangistan () was a term used by Easterners from the Muslim world and Persians in particular, during the Middle Ages and later periods, to refer to Western or Latin Europe. According to Rashid-al-Din Hamadani, the Arabic word "Afranj" comes from the Persian "Farang". This seems unlikely though, considering that the Arabic "Afranj" (also "Faranj" or "Ifranj") has been attested since the 9th century in the works of al-Jahiz (c. 776–868/869), over a century before "Farang" was first used in an anonymous late-10th-century Persian geography book. By the 11th century, Arabic texts were increasingly using the term "Faransa" or "al-Faransiyah" for France, already attested in the work of Said al-Andalusi in the mid-11th century. Ethiopia and Eritrea In the languages of Ethiopia and Eritrea, faranj or ferenj in most contexts still means distant foreigner (generally used to describe Europeans or European descendant/white people), in certain contexts within the Ethiopian and Eritrean diaspora, the term faranj or ferenj has taken on a slightly alternative meaning that closely resembles the term Westerner or Westernized people even though it still mostly applies to European descendants/White People, it can be applied to African Americans and other Westernized People of Color. Somalia The term 'Faranji' is used in Somalia, particularly in the northern and central regions, to refer to white people and various elements of Western culture, such as clothing, music, and other civilizational aspects. For example, someone wearing Western-style attire might be described as "dressing like a faranji," or a European musical instrument could be called a "faranji instrument." Unlike the more offensive term 'Gaal'—which traditionally denotes non-Muslims but is often narrowly applied to white people and Western influences—'faranji' is relatively neutral or even positive. It typically signifies an association with Western civilization, implying sophistication or dominance, even when used critically. South, Southeast and East Asia During the Muslim Mughal Empire when the Europeans arrived in South Asia, the Persian word Farang was used to refer to foreigners of European descent. The words also added to local languages such as Hindi/Urdu as firangi (Devanāgarī: फिरंगी and Urdu فرنگی) and Bengali as firingi (ফিরিঙ্গি). The word was pronounced paranki (പറങ്കി) in Malayalam, parangiar in Tamil, Sinhala, and Malay as ferenggi. From there the term spread into China as folangji (佛郎機), which was used to refer to the Portuguese and their breech-loading swivel guns when they first arrived in China. ==Regional evolution==