Saracen
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Saracen
- /ˈsæɹəˌsən/
Where it comes from
From Late Latin Saracenus, from Ancient Greek Σαρακηνός (Sarakēnós) - *Saraka[?] + -ινος. The source of the Greek has long been debated.
* In the 17th-19th centuries, the most widely accepted theory derived it from Arabic شَرْقِيِّين (šarqiyyin, “easterners”), as the Sarakenoi lived to the east of most Semitic peoples of the time.
* Some authors in the 15th-17th centuries derived it from Arabic سَارِقُون (sāriqūn, “plunderers”) (as mentioned in Wikipedia Saracen).
* In the 4th century AD, some authors (e.g. Eusebius) connected it (likely by folk etymology) to the biblical Sarah, claiming that the progeny of Hagar had chosen that name to imitate the nobler roots of Israelites. This might be the source of the pejorative use of the term, and its wide currency.
* Two theories based on place-names point at Saraka in Arabia, or Sarakēnē in Arabia Petrea. The latter, apparently in Sinai, may be related to the Bedouin tribe Sawārke/Sawārika. According to this theory, this was the first Arabic group with whom the Greek writers from Alexandria would have sustained contacts, and it served as a type that was later generalized to all Arabic groups.
noun Saracens
- A member of a nomadic people from the Sinai near the Roman province of Arabia in the early centuries AD, who were specifically distinct from Arabs.
- A Muslim, especially one involved in the Crusades. We pretend to be Christians, and, from the superior Light we enjoy, ought to exceed Heathens, Turks, Saracens, Moors, Negroes, and Indians, in the Knowledge and Practice of what is right.
- A pirate in the Mediterranean.
Translations
Talk about this word "Saracen." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/saracen. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. Saracen. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/saracen "Saracen." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/saracen.Cite this
@misc{saracen_2026,
title = {Saracen},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/saracen},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
