Farangi

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Farangi, firang firangi or Parangi is a term for foreigners in Persian, possibly linked to the West Germanic tribe of the Franks that became the biggest political power in Western Europe during the early Middle Ages. The word in Arabic (faranji or ferenji) is similar and the word farangi also appears in Amharic, Urdu and Hindi in reference to western Europeans.
Another hypothesis for the origin of the word firangi is that it is derived from the English word "foreign". 'Foreign' in Hindi is pardesi or videshi. English is widely used in India because much of the country was a British colony until 1947. So firangi means the same as "foreign".

In south india, in Tamil and Malayalam, the word is pronounced as parangi, possibly loaned from arab traders in malabar, which refers specifically to the Portuguese who arrived and traded with the south indian ports during the 16th century. Parangi malai(St. Thomas Mount), near Madras is named so to refer to the a Portuguese established Church of St.Thomas on top of the hillock. Parangi kai, Parangi Aru may refer to the same.

See also

• Farang: Thai word for people of European descent
• Frangistan (Persian: فرنگستان): The Persian name for Western Europe from the Middle ages until the end of the 19th century CE.
• Franks: Legacy