Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
No foreign words. ("Ferengi" is the Arabic word for "foreigner")
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That's a common misconception. There
is an Arabic word
ifranj (افرنج), however it was used to refer to the Franks (=all Europeans) and the Land of the Franks (= Europe) was usually referred to as al-firanja (الفرنجة).
In Modern Standard Arabic,
ifranj (or the adjective form
ifranjiy) can theoretically still be used to refer to Europeans, however, an Arabized form of "European" (=urubbiy) is more commonly used to express this meaning.
BTW, the Arabic word for foreigner is ajnabiy (اجنبي) pl. ajaanib (اجانب).
Pronunciation guide: a as in but; i as pit; u as in push; aa as in spa; iy as in bee; j as in jinn or s as in measure or g as in got.