What is "farang"

in Thai, "white person," 1861, ultimately from Frank (see Feringhee).

n. (cx Thailand sometimes derogatory English) A Caucasian or a white foreigner; one who comes to Thailand from another country.

Farang ( , colloquially) is a generic Thai word for someone of European ancestry, no matter where they may come from. The Royal Institute Dictionary 1999, the official dictionary of Thai words, defines the word as "a person of white race".

Edmund Roberts, US envoy in 1833, defined the term as " Frank (or European)." People of mixed sub-Saharan African-European descent were called farang dam (; 'black farang') to distinguish them from white people. This began during the Vietnam War, when the United States military maintained bases in Thailand. The practice continues in present-day Bangkok.