Word.ws English Dictionary

ferenghi

ferenghi noun: a white westerner.

Noun

ferenghi (plural ferenghis or ferenghies)

  1. A white westerner.
    • The appearance of Ferenghi ladies in the Holy City will be an innovation that will fairly eclipse the introduction of the bicycle.1887, Thomas Stevens, chapter XII, in Around the World on a Bicycle, Vol. II: From Teheran to Yokohama, London: Sampson Low […] , page 241
    • The tenacity, perseverance, and indefatigability of Britons have always deeply impressed the Asiatic; and i have had the opportunity of witnessing more than one Turks, Persian, or Afghan, who, in spite of being impregnated with the ideas of the Mohammedan Nirvana, began by expressing his amazement...1891, Scottish Geographical Magazine, page 294

Examples of ferenghi in a sentence

  • Suleiman's people, many of whom could barely stomach the sight of the ferenghis, with their sunburnt faces and arrogant bearing, their heavy chain hauberks and their long swords.2006, Jack Whyte, Knights of the Black and White:
  • "Among ferenghis," he said, "it is called 'Greek Fire.'"2007, Lloyd Alexander, The Golden Dream of Carlo Chuchio, page 277:

Forms of ferenghi

pluralferenghis
pluralferenghies
alternative formFerenghi

Origin of ferenghi

In The Journeyer (2010, page 344), Gary Jennings speculates that this word is derived from Frank—Mongols heard westerners call themselves Franks during the Mongol invasion of Europe, and since then the Mongols called any white westerner a Ferenghi regardless of nationality. "Ferenghi" has also been used in the same manner by Turks, Persians, Afghans, Indians and Arabs. See Arabic إِفْرَنْجِيّ (ʔifranjiyy) and Persian فرنگی (farangi).

Questions about ferenghi

What does ferenghi mean?
Ferenghi means a white westerner.
How do you use ferenghi in a sentence?
Suleiman's people, many of whom could barely stomach the sight of the ferenghis, with their sunburnt faces and arrogant bearing, their heavy chain hauberks and their long swords.
What part of speech is ferenghi?
Ferenghi is a noun.
What is the plural of ferenghi?
The plural of ferenghi is ferenghis.

Words near ferenghi in the dictionary

  1. Ferencz
  2. Ferenczes
  3. Ferenczian
  4. ferendae sententiae
  5. ferene
  6. ferenghi
  7. ferenghies
  8. ferenghis
  9. Ferengi
  10. feres
  11. feretories

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: ferenghi (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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