Saracen

See also: Saracén

English

Alternative forms

• Sarcen (misspelling)

Etymology

From Late Latin Saracenus, from Ancient Greek Σαρακηνός (Sarakēnós) - *Saraka[?] + -ινος. The source of the Greek has long been debated. In the 17th-19th century the most widely accepted theory derived it from Arabic شَرْقِيِّين (šarqiyyin, “easterners”). Since the Sarakenoi lived to the east of most Semitic peoples of the time. Some authors in the 15th-17th centuries dervied it from Arabic سَارِقُون (plunderers) (sariqun), as mentioned in wikipedia Saracen. A yet older theory from the 4th century CE (e.g. Eusebius), connected it to biblical Sarah, claiming that the progeny of Hagar had chosen that name to imitate the nobler roots of Israelites. This is probably 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, and 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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsæɹəˌsən/

Noun

Saracen (plural Saracens)

1. A member of a nomadic people from the Sinai near the Roman province of Arabia in the early centuries CE, who were specifically distinct from Arabs.
2. (dated) A Muslim, especially one involved in the Crusades.
3. (dated) A pirate in the Mediterranean.
4. A type of six-wheeled armoured personnel carrier.

Related terms

• Saracenic
• sarsen, sarsen stone

Translations

member of a nomadic people from the Sinai near the Roman province of Arabia in the early centuries CE

• Armenian: սարակինոս (sarakinos)
• Czech: Saracén m
• French: Sarrazin (fr) m, Sarrasin (fr) m
• German: Sarazene (de) m
• Polish: Saracen (pl) m
• Portuguese: sarraceno (pt) m
• Sicilian: saracinu m, saracina f
• Spanish: sarraceno (es) m, sarracena (es) f
• Swedish: saracen (sv) c

Arab or any Muslim, especially one involved in the Crusades

• Armenian: սարակինոս (sarakinos)
• French: Sarrazin (fr) m, Sarrasin (fr) m
• Georgian: სარკინოზი (sarḳinozi)
• Polish: Saracen (pl) m
• Russian: сараци́н (ru) (saracín)
• Sicilian: saracinu m, maumittanu f
• Spanish: sarraceno (es) m, sarracena (es) f
• Swedish: saracen (sv) c
• Turkish: Sarazen

pirate in the Mediterranean

• Sicilian: saracinu m, saracina f;turcu (scn) m, turca f

type of six-wheeled armoured personnel carrier

References

• “Saracen”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “Saracen”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “Saracen”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “Saracen” in TheFreeDictionary.com, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.: Farlex, Inc., 2003–2024.

Anagrams

• Canarse

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French sarrazin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /saˈra.t͡sɛn/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -at͡sɛn
• Syllabification: Sa‧ra‧cen

Noun

Saracen m pers

1. Saracen

Declension

Declension of Saracen

	singular	plural
nominative	Saracen	Saraceni
genitive	Saracena	Saracenów
dative	Saracenowi	Saracenom
accusative	Saracena	Saracenów
instrumental	Saracenem	Saracenami
locative	Saracenie	Saracenach
vocative	Saracenie	Saraceni

Derived terms

• saraceński

 

Further reading

• Saracen in Polish dictionaries at PWN