(a.), from Ifrand̲j̲ [q.v.], lit. “adopting, imitating or aping the manners and customs of the Franks, i.e. the Europeans”. The term was used by the pioneer journalist Ḵh̲alīl al-Ḵh̲ūrī in his satirical novella Way id̲h̲an lastu bi-Ifrand̲j̲ī (“Alas then, I am not a European”), published in the magazine Ḥadīḳat al-Ak̲h̲bār in 1860, and may be older. The Turkish alafranga [ lik ], from Italian alla franca, and the Persian g̲h̲arbzada [ gī ], literally “West-struck[ness]”, convey the same meaning. The latter term has been variously rendered as “Westosis” and “Westoxication”.
During the…