Farang (Persian: فرنگ) is a Persian word that originally referred to the Franks (the major Germanic people) and later came to refer to Western or Latin Europeans in general. The word is borrowed from Old French franc or Latin francus, which are also the source of Modern English France, French.
The Western European and Islamic worlds came into prolonged contact with each other during the crusades and the establishment of the Crusader states. Many crusaders spoke (Old) French and were from the territory of modern France; while others came from other regions, such as modern Italy or England. In any case, the period predated the idea of the nation state in Europe. Frank or its equivalent term were used by both Medieval Greeks and Muslims to refer to any crusader or Latin Christian. From the 12th century onwards, it was the standard term for Western Christians in the Muslim world.
Through Muslim trading networks, the Persian term farang and related words such as Frangistan (Persian: فرنگستان) were spread to languages of South Asia and Southeast Asia.