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Saracen

 [sar-uh-suhn]   Origin

Sar·a·cen

   [sar-uh-suhn]
noun
1.
History/Historical. a member of any of the nomadic tribes on the Syrian borders of the Roman Empire.
2.
(in later use) an Arab.
3.
a Muslim, especially in the period of the Crusades.
adjective
4.
Also, Sar·a·cen·ic  [sar-uh-sen-ik] , Sar·a·cen·i·cal. of or pertaining to the Saracens.

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Saracen is always a great word to know.
So is ort. Does it mean:
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
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Origin:
before 900; Middle English, Old English < Medieval Latin Saracēnus < Late Greek Sarakēnós

Related forms
Sar·a·cen·ism, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
Saracen (ˈsærəsən)
 
—n
1.  history a member of one of the nomadic Arabic tribes, esp of the Syrian desert, that harassed the borders of the Roman Empire in that region
2.  a.  a Muslim, esp one who opposed the crusades
 b.  (in later use) any Arab
 
—adj
3.  of or relating to Arabs of either of these periods, regions, or types
4.  designating, characterizing, or relating to Muslim art or architecture
 
[C13: from Old French Sarrazin, from Late Latin Saracēnus, from Late Greek Sarakēnos, perhaps from Arabic sharq sunrise, from shāraqa to rise]
 
Saracenic
 
—adj
 
Sara'cenical
 
—adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

Saracen
O.E., "an Arab" (in Gk. and Roman translations), also, mid-13c., generally, "non-Christian, heathen, pagan," from O.Fr. saracin, from L.L. saracenus, from Gk. sarakenos, usually said to be from Arabic Sharquiyin, accusative plural of sharqiy "eastern," from sharq "east, sunrise," but this is not certain.
EXPAND
In Medieval times the name was associated with that of Biblical Sarah (q.v.).
"Peple þat cleped hem self Saracenys, as þogh þey were i-come of Sarra" [John of Trevisa, transl. Higdon's Polychronicon, 1387]
The name Greeks and Romans gave to the nomads of the Syrian and Arabian deserts. Specific sense of "Middle Eastern Muslim" is from the Crusades.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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