Re: Ferengi

Joshua Shinavier wrote:

> btw. does anyone know if the name "Ferengi" is from the Hindi word for
> "foreigner"?
Probably.

"Farang" (and variants) was created in the Middle East during the
Crusades, and has been carried by Islam around the world clear to
Thailand and probably beyond, usually with the sense "foreigner/
European/trader".  Its origin is, of course, "Frank",
the word used in Arabic for all Western Europeans.

No one from the Star Trek organization has confirmed the origin
of "Ferengi" from "farang" in the sense "trader", but it seems
obvious.

--
John Cowan      http://www.ccil.org/~cowan              cowan@ccil.org
        You tollerday donsk?  N.  You tolkatiff scowegian?  Nn.
        You spigotty anglease?  Nnn.  You phonio saxo?  Nnnn.
                Clear all so!  'Tis a Jute.... (Finnegans Wake 16.5)