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Re: Ferengi

From:Andrew Smith <hobbit@...>
Date:Friday, May 21, 1999, 3:19
On Thu, 20 May 1999, John Cowan wrote:

> "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. >
I think you can construct a continuum ranging from Frank/Farang in the West to Palang on the Pacific rim.
> No one from the Star Trek organization has confirmed the origin > of "Ferengi" from "farang" in the sense "trader", but it seems > obvious. >
On one of my concartographies is a country called Feringistan, the Land of the Foreign Traders. The name apparantly did exist historically. I like it better than Paramountese *Ferenganar. One day I'll work out what sort of language Feringistani is... - andrew. Andrew Smith, Intheologus hobbit@earthlight.co.nz "Orcs eat Hummers." - Old Orc Saying.