Saracen was a term used by Europeans in the Middle Ages for Fatimids at first, then later for all who professed the religion of Islam. Etymology The term Saracen comes from Greek Σαρακηνός, which has often been thought to be derived from the Arabic word شرقيين sharqiyyin ("easterners"), though the Oxford English Dictionary calls etymologies from this "not well founded". The term spread into Western Europe through t… (More on Saracen)